In an era of player-led content and hunger for sports docs, a new project will focus on the nine players to both win a Heisman trophy and be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Tim Brown, the 1987 Heisman winner and 2015 HOF inductee, has been leading development for the documentary, joined by NFL Films, Elite Holdings and Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment Company (HOFV). The work is set to debut in 2022.
“Upon talking with guys like Marcus Allen, Barry Sanders and others, we felt if we found a way to tell this story about our on-field legacies, we could create meaningful ways to leave a legacy off the field,” Brown said in a statement.
HOFV CEO Michael Crawford said the stories of so-called “H2H” athletes could extend beyond the screen to include events and training opportunities. “Our goal is to really make sure the story of these individuals is told,” Crawford said. “We want to find great content and bring it to life.”
Production is set to begin in the spring before talks are held with potential distributors. The nine athletes are Doak Walker, Paul Hornung, Roger Staubach, OJ Simpson, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell, Sanders, Allen and Brown.
Charles Woodson will likely be the 10th member of the group, and the first since Brown, as experts expect him to be selected as part of the Hall of Fame Class of 2021.
Elite Team Holdings was established to promote the H2H group with Brown as CEO. Meanwhile the project represents another step for HOFV’s media ambitions. The company, which operates Hall of Fame Village in Canton, Ohio, hired two executives to lead the division and signed a docuseries deal with Sports Illustrated Studios in November.