The Cardinals and Panthers open the 2026 NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game on Thursday, August 6 at 8 p.m. ET — 5 p.m. Arizona time — at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, airing nationally on NBC. The matchup is no accident: the game kicks off the enshrinement weekend for the Class of 2026, and its headliners belong to these franchises — Larry Fitzgerald, the greatest Cardinal ever, and Panthers legend Luke Kuechly, honored on the field before kickoff alongside Drew Brees, Roger Craig and Adam Vinatieri.
The Cardinals are the designated home team in their sixth Canton appearance — a history that reaches back further than any franchise’s: then based in St. Louis, they played in the very first Hall of Fame Game in 1962, a 21-21 tie with the Giants staged before the museum even opened. Carolina hasn’t been to Canton since its 1995 expansion debut. The teams met last season in Week 2, with Arizona building a 27-3 lead and surviving late for a 27-22 win; this one doubles as the first game of any kind for new Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur.
Cardinals Training Camp 2026
Hall of Fame Game: The Complete Guide
Date, time, TV and streaming for the Canton opener
Aug 6Thursday
8 PM ET5 PM Arizona
NBCNational TV
6thCardinals in Canton
The Details
| Item |
Detail |
Notes |
| Date |
Thursday, August 6, 2026 |
|
| Kickoff |
8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. Arizona time |
|
| Venue |
Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, Canton, Ohio |
Adjacent to the Hall itself |
| TV |
NBC (national) |
Streaming wherever NBC streams, including Peacock |
| Home team |
Cardinals |
Their sixth trip to Canton — they played in the very first Hall of Fame Game in 1962 |
| The weekend |
Class of 2026 enshrinement |
Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Drew Brees, Roger Craig, Adam Vinatieri — honored on-field pregame |
The Fitzgerald Game
For Cardinals fans this is less a preseason opener than a coronation eve: Fitzgerald — 17 seasons, one franchise, second all-time in catches and receiving yards — enters the Hall that weekend, and the team he defined plays the game that opens it.
Hall of Fame Games are backup showcases by design — starters typically play little or not at all — but with a first-year coach evaluating everything and a No. 3 pick in Jeremiyah Love, Arizona has more reason than most HOF teams to let a few headliners take a series.
Canton Logistics
Tom Benson Stadium seats about 23,000 — the NFL’s most intimate venue — and tickets run through the Hall of Fame itself, often bundled with enshrinement events. For traveling Cardinals fans, the game and Fitzgerald’s Saturday enshrinement make a natural two-day trip.
The Bottom Line
August 6, 8 ET on NBC, in the stadium next to the museum Larry Fitzgerald enters that weekend — the most meaningful meaningless game the Cardinals have ever played. Who actually takes snaps is covered in the expected participation guide, and the full August slate in the preseason schedule.
