When the Los Angeles Chargers square off against the Detroit Lions in Canton, Ohio for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, it’ll be the first time two NFL teams have suited up for competition since way back in February, when the Philadelphia Eagles bested the Kansas City Chiefs to win Super Bowl LIX. 

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For fans, the nearly six-month dearth of football action between February and August might as well add up to an eternity — which is why the official start of the NFL preseason always arrives with such an enormous boatload of hype. Falling earlier in the year than even the start of college football’s “Week 0,” it’s the season’s very first signal that football is about to be back on the weekly TV menu, from the start of the NFL preseason right on through the playoffs and beyond.

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Who is playing in the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game?

The Los Angeles Chargers face the Detroit Lions in this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, airing Thursday, July 31 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.

Amon-Ra St. Brown #14 of the Detroit Lions celebrates after catching a touchdown as the time expired to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 29-27 at Ford Field on December 05, 2021 in Detroit, Michigan.

Held since 1962 in Canton, Ohio, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is the yearly exhibition game that heralds the imminent arrival of the NFL preseason. Played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium and lying adjacent to the main Hall of Fame building in Canton, it’s not technically a preseason game itself — after all, the result of the Hall of Fame Game doesn’t count toward either participating team’s preseason record. 

Instead, the Hall of Fame Game has an intrinsic value that’s uniquely its own. Teams selected to each year’s Hall of Fame Game typically have some historical connection to the current class of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees who are slated to join the exclusive Canton club that same year. This year, NFL great (and former Chargers tight end) Antonio Gates continues that tradition for the Chargers, alongside the 2025 Hall of Fame induction of fellow league icons Eric Allen, Jared Allen, and Sterling Sharpe. 

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In addition to its significance as the event that signals the arrival of the NFL preseason, the Hall of Fame Game also anchors the week-long celebration of annual enshrinement activities at the Hall of Fame itself. This year, Enshrinement Week begins on July 31 and runs through August 3, with Gates and his fellow 2025 inductees set to receive their gold Hall of Fame jackets at a special ceremony on August 1, followed by their official enshrinement on August 2.

Known at the time of its founding as the American Professional Football Association, the league we know today as the NFL was first founded in Canton, Ohio in September of 1920. This year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame Game in Canton marks the start of the league’s 106th season.

Want to be there from the very first kickoff of the 2025 NFL season? The 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game will be broadcast live on both NBC and Peacock on Thursday, July 31 at 8 p.m. ET. 

NBC’s all-pro Sunday Night Football coverage crew will be right there on the call, including play-by-play from Mike Tirico, analysis from Chris Collinsworth, sideline reporting from Melissa Stark, and rules analysis from Terry McAulay. 

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