Plot Synopsis

Held in the comfy confines of Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (fka Fawcett Stadium), a venue typically used for high-school football in Canton, OH, the Hall of Fame Game is an annual preseason classic that traditionally kicks off the new National Football League (NFL) season as part of the weekend activities for the Hall of Fame Enshrinement. ABC first televised this game in 1971 as part of THE WIDE WORLD OF SPORTS, where it continued on Saturday afternoons through 1997. From 1998-2005, ABC televised the game during primetime -- on Saturday for the first year and on Mondays afterward. The game switched to Sunday primetime on NBC in 2006, NFL Network in 2007, and then back to NBC from 2008-2010. After the game was cancelled the following year because of the 2011 lockout, the 2012 game pitted the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints on NFL Network on Sunday, August 5, 2012 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. One year later, the game switched back to NBC, which broadcast a game between the Dallas Cowboys and Miami Dolphins on Sunday, August 4, 2013 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, and NBC continued to broadcast the game in primetime through 2019, then no game in 2020 because of COVIC-19, after which the game rotated between FOX, NBC, ABC/ESPN
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On Thursday, August 1, 2024 at 8pm ET/5pm PT, ABC and ESPN broadcast the 2024 game live from Canton, Ohio. This matchup between rookie-quarterback Caleb Williams' Bears and the reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year C.J. Stroud's Texans will be the first opportunity for fans to see NFL game-action ahead of the 2024 season. The MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Lisa Salters call the game, with Laura Rutledge contributing to the broadcast by interviewing the Hall of Fame enshrinees throughout the game. Aikman, a three-time Super Bowl Champion, was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. In 2020, Buck was recognized by the Hall of Fame receiving, the Hall's Pete Rozelle Radio-Television Award. Salters is a member of the Hall's Selection Committee.