The Detroit Lions will take on the Los Angeles Chargers in the annual Hall of Fame Game, the NFL announced Wednesday.
The game will kick off Enshrinement Week this summer in Canton, Ohio, and will take place at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on July 31, with TV coverage on NBC.
‘This game features two teams that can be considered legitimate contenders to reach Super Bowl LX next February,” Pro Football Hall of Fame president and CEO Jim Porter said in a statement. ‘For them to face each other right out of the gate in Canton, Ohio, should create a dynamic opening to another spectacular NFL season.’
Class of 2025 member Antonio Gates spent his entire career from 2003 to 2018 with the Chargers. He and fellow class members Eric Allen, Jared Allen and Sterling Sharpe will be recognized on the field before the game kicks off.
This will be the fourth trip to Canton for the Lions and third for the Chargers. But neither team has appeared in the Hall of Fame Game since the 1990s.
The Lions went 15-2 in the regular season last year, earning the NFC’s No. 1 seed before they were upended in the divisional playoffs by the Washington Commanders. The Chargers finished 11-6 and earned a playoff spot in the AFC, but were defeated in the wild card round by the Houston Texans.