Pro Football Hall of Fame voting changes deal may have huge impact on former Bengals greats Ken Anderson, Willie Anderson
The Pro Football Hall of Fame overhauled its selection process Friday, and the changes have a direct impact on two of the Cincinnati Bengals’ all-time greats.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame overhauled its selection process Friday, and the changes have a direct impact on two of the Cincinnati Bengals’ all-time greats.
Ken Anderson and Willie Anderson each face a steeper climb to Canton after the Hall’s changes. For starters, the selection committee has been reduced from 50 to 28 members. The smaller voter pool puts more weight on every single vote, but that’s not the most consequential shift for either Anderson.
The changes to how candidates advance through the process will make it meaningfully harder for both to reach induction.
Ken Anderson faces an even tougher road than he previously had
Ken Anderson was already in a tough spot as a senior player. The Hall used to account for selecting three senior finalists, but senior finalists no longer exist.
Modern-era and senior players are now grouped into one pool. The previous structure featured 15 modern-era finalists along with three seniors. The new format includes just 13 players total, along with one coach and one contributor in each finalist class.
That’s a huge blow for Anderson and other seniors who have not been inducted yet. There is no longer any guarantee a senior will even make it as a finalist, let alone garner enough votes for induction. They will now be pitted directly against modern-era players for fewer available spots.
Willie Anderson loses his automatic path
Another change is the removal of a candidate automatically becoming a finalist the following year if he finishes within the top-seven in finalist voting. This would have directly impacted Willie Anderson over the last two cycles. The former All-Pro was first a top-seven finalist in 2025. He used the guaranteed finalist track to end up in the top-seven yet again in 2026.
Without that automatic carryover, it will be tougher for Anderson to earn finalist status in any given year. He’ll need to fight through the full process each time.
The Bill Belichick effect
All of these changes appear to stem from the fact that former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick was snubbed during his first year of eligibility.
It was always a given that Belichick would eventually make the Hall of Fame. It was never a given for either Anderson to earn the same honor.
The Hall restructured its entire process in response to one egregious miss, and the collateral damage fell on candidates who were already fighting uphill battles.
It looks very bleak for the elder Anderson to ever have his moment. It won’t be easier for the younger Anderson to achieve it either.
