Tom Brady will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2028.

How the eligibility works

The Pro Football Hall of Fame requires a player to be retired (inactive) for five full seasons before they can be considered for induction. Brady’s final, official retirement came after the 2022 season, with the Hall and multiple outlets treating 2023 as the start of his five-year inactive clock. That timeline points directly to his first year of eligibility being the 2028 class, something the Hall of Fame itself highlighted publicly.

In practical terms, that means fans can expect Brady to be on the ballot for the 2028 enshrinement group in Canton, and he is overwhelmingly expected to be a first-ballot inductee given his seven Super Bowl titles and record-setting career.

In forum and social discussions, you’ll sometimes see confusion about 2027 vs. 2028 because of his brief first retirement in 2022, but major Hall timelines and news outlets now consistently cite 2028 as his Hall of Fame class.

Quick bullet recap

  • Hall rule: must be inactive for five consecutive seasons.
  • Brady’s definitive retirement: after the 2022 season, with 2023 onward counted as inactive years.
  • First Hall of Fame eligibility: Class of 2028.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.