Detroit Lions to host Los Angeles Chargers in 2025 Hall of Fame Game in Canton
The Detroit Lions will host the Los Angeles Chargers in the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The season-opening exhibition will take place Thursday, July 31, 2025, two days before enshrinement of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
NBC will broadcast the game featuring two teams coming off playoff appearances. The Lions won the NFC North for the second consecutive season, finishing 15-2. The Washington Commanders defeated them in the NFC Divisional Round.
The Chargers, meanwhile, went 11-6 in their first year under head coach Jim Harbaugh. Los Angeles went home in the AFC Wild Card Round at the hands of the Houston Texans.
“This game features two teams that can be considered legitimate contenders to reach Super Bowl LX next February,” said Jim Porter, president & CEO of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “For them to face each other right out of the gate in Canton, Ohio, should create a dynamic opening to another spectacular NFL season.”
Chargers legend Antonio Gates headlines Hall of Fame Class of 2025
This year’s Hall of Fame class is made up of Antonio Gates, Sterling Sharpe, Eric Allen and Jared Allen. Gates, who spent his entire career (2003-2018) with the Chargers, is the NFL’s all-time touchdowns leader for a tight end (116). LaDainian Tomlinson, Gates’ former teammate and a Hall of Fame running back, surprised Gates with the news that he was next to receive a Gold Jacket.
“I think it was just a surreal moment for the most part. Because you work so hard to reach a level in sports,” Gates told Chargers.com. “Then you talk about the Hall of Fame, it’s like a funnel. And you know how many people get out of the bottom of that funnel. It starts wide and gets really small.
“To be sitting in football heaven, words can’t really describe it,” Gates continued. “The presence of being in that moment, being in that situation. Like I said, for all those people that helped me along the way, thankful for those guys.
Gates added, “Everything had to be right. Skill level, timing, coaches, the people around you, the team. Everything had to fall into place and I’m grateful to be on the other end of it.”
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