**FOXBOROUGH, Mass**. – The New England Patriots revealed one new name among this year's nominations for hall of fame consideration, as first-year eligible candidate Rob Gronkowski joins second-time finalist Adam Vinatieri and four-time finalist Logan Mankins. Vinatieri was a first-time finalist last year, while Mankins was a finalist in 2022, 2023 and 2025.
Starting today, Patriots fans are encouraged to vote for the Patriots finalist most deserving of Patriots Hall of Fame induction. Fans can vote once per day on the Patriots website at [https://www.patriots.com/hof](https://www.patriots.com/hof) now through 11:00 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, April 28. The team will announce the selection later that week.
Beginning in 2007, the Patriots started a new tradition, inducting at least one player into the team's hall of fame each year. The process involves a panel of media, alumni and staff who collectively nominate the players or head coaches most deserving of induction. After the nominations are made, the committee votes, and the top three tallies become that year's finalists. The Patriots then give fans the opportunity to vote online to select each year's inductee. The Patriots are the only team in the NFL that allows its fans to make the final selection for enshrinement. In addition to the fans annually selecting a nominee for induction, a senior selection committee has added three members to the Patriots Hall of Fame, and Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert Kraft has extended the honor to five contributors.
The New England Patriots held their annual nomination committee meeting on Wednesday, April 1, to discuss, deliberate and vote for this year's candidates for induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame. Now it is up to the fans to select the 2026 honoree.
More information on each of this year's finalists is listed below in alphabetical order: