The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame today unveiled the 64 members of the 2026 NFF Team of Distinction, honoring the nation’s top high school scholar-athletes who represent the future leaders of the game and have excelled at the very highest levels in the classroom, on the field and by making an impact in their communities.
“The NFF Team of Distinction represents everything great about the future of football,” said NFF President & CEO Steve Hatchell. “These remarkable young men have pushed themselves to succeed in every arena imaginable: in the classroom, on the field, and in service to their communities. Together, they have compiled an extraordinary record that includes valedictorians, all-state selections, Eagle Scouts, team captains and community leaders.”
Selected from a nationwide pool of 3,500 outstanding candidates identified through the NFF Chapter Network, the members of the team all played their final high school football season during the 2025-26 school year. Each NFF chapter is permitted to nominate only one player annually, making inclusion on the Team of Distinction one of the highest honors awarded at the grassroots level of amateur football. Criteria to make the team include (but are not limited to) academic achievement, athletic accolades and community involvement.
This year marks the ninth year of the NFF Team of Distinction, continuing a 73-year tradition of the NFF Chapter Network honoring the nation’s top scholar-athletes at the grassroots level. Since 1954, NFF chapters have served as the driving force behind the Foundation’s mission to build leaders through football, recognizing excellence while strengthening communities across the country.
Today, the NFF Chapter Network includes more than 12,000 members and positively impacts more than 500,000 student-athletes at 5,000 high schools annually. At the center of that mission are the chapters’ annual scholar-athlete awards banquets, which collectively honor more than 3,500 outstanding high school football players each year while providing more than $1 million in scholarships to support their academic futures.
- 64 Honorees
- 29 States Represented
- 4.15 Average GPA
- 44 Team Captains
- 26 All-State Selections
- 6 Valedictorians
- 44 National Honor Society Members
- 44 Multi-Sport Athletes
- 4 Eagle Scouts
