The NFL on Thursday canceled the league’s Hall of Fame game that was set to open the preseason. The 2020 Hall of Fame induction ceremonies is also being delayed for a year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hall of Fame game was supposed to have taken place on August 6 in Canton, Ohio, between the Dallas Cowboys and Pittsburgh Steelers. It becomes the first on-field event that the league has canceled during the pandemic.
The same two teams will meet in next year’s Hall of Fame game, Aug. 5, 2021. The enshrinement of 20 men scheduled for this year, will now take place on Aug. 7, 2021, with the 2021 inductees going into the Hall of Fame the next day.
The league may not be done there either. It’s possible the NFL will reduce the number of exhibition games to two per team from the usual four.