Raiders owner Mark Davis believes families of deceased Hall of Famers should get rings

The NFL recently announced that the family of former Broncos owner, the recently passed away Pat Bowlen, will receive a ring and a gold jacket from the Pro Football Hall of Fame upon Bowlen’s enshrinement into the Hall in August. Previously, the Hall’s policy was to not award any rings of jackets to the family of deceased members.

Raiders owner Mark Davis came out in support of this change in policy, as noted in an ESPN piece by Paul Gutierrez.

“David Baker and the Hall of Fame made the right decision, and I believe it opens the door to reconsidering awarding rings and jackets to the families of all deceased enshrinees,” Davis told ESPN.com Tuesday night. “It opens the door to making it right for other families, like Junior Seau’s and Kenny Stabler’s.

”There’s no reason I should have my father’s ring and Bruce Allen does not have his. As a new member of the NFL owners Hall of Fame Committee, I’ll continue to advocate for the families.”

The Hall’s policy made some semblance of sense, considering the Hall is opposed to anyone who isn’t actually in the Hall of Fame wearing a Hall of Fame ring or gold jacket. But the families of Seau and Stabler got nothing, and that just doesn’t seem right. Pat Bowlen is the first person to die in the time between selection and induction, and the process of creating his ring and jacket were under way prior to his death. With this shift in stance, the items will not go unused or unseen. Perhaps this will lead to a full-fledged change in the Hall’s policy in future years.