New exhibit at Pro Football Hall of Fame shines light on women’s contributions to the sport

“It’s about time,” said the woman next to me, as she perused the items in the showcases. She was referring to “Women’s Impact on Football,” a new exhibit at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, recognizing women who have made a difference in male dominated pro football. Though there have been other exhibits of this nature previously, this marks the first permanent one for the Hall of Fame. 

On display in the “Pro Football Today” area of the museum are artifacts from women who have played, coached, officiated and broadcast the game at its highest level. And there’s a surprising number of them who have made their mark on the sport in recent years. “Girl power” has begun to permeate this arena. 

Jan Welter, for example, became the first woman to coach an NFL game back in 2015 when she joined the Arizona Cardinals as an assistant coaching intern for training camp and the preseason. The shirt, pants and shoes she wore on the sideline in all four exhibition games are on exhibit. You’ll also see the Texas Revolution jersey and Dallas Diamonds helmet she wore as a player, plus a commemorative helmet signed by Team Australia during her time as head coach of the national squad. 

On display is Callie Brownson’s jacket and a signed ball from the game in which she became the first woman to serve as a position coach for a regular season NFL game with the Cleveland Browns in 2020. Brownson filled in as the tight ends coach when the current coach didn’t travel with the team after his wife gave birth to the couple’s first baby. 

Callie Brownson makes history

First all-female broadcast team to call an NFL regular season game

Other women featured are: Katie Sowers, who became only the second woman to serve as a full-time NFL coach; Lori Locust, assistant defensive line coach for the Buccaneers; Maia Chaka, the first Black woman to officiate an NFL game; Sarah Thomas, the first woman to officiate in a Super Bowl and Allison Cahill, who played quarterback for the Boston Renegades and was awarded MVP for her stellar performance in the 2021 Women’s Alliance of Pro Football National Championship Game.

Women entering the arena

Lori Locust

Artifacts from the above standouts include Sowers’ 49ers polo from the 2017 season, the shoes Locust wore during Tampa Bay’s victory in Super Bowl LV, Chaka’s referee uniform and penalty flags, game-worn gear used by Thomas, and Cahill’s signed Boston Renegades’ jersey from the championship game. 

Broadcasters Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer are given their due, too, and the headsets they used from 2018 are on display. The pair became the first all-female broadcast team to call an NFL regular-season game. 

It’s interesting to learn that the percentage of women employed in the NFL has been increasing in recent years. Currently, it’s up to 38.8%, due in part to the NFL and its teams enacting a series of initiatives and hires leading to more advancement opportunities for women in the hierarchy. 

Makiing history

There are to date three women who hold the title of team president in the NFL: Kristi Coleman with the Carolina Panthers, Kim Pegula for the Buffalo Bills and Sandra Douglass Morgan, who’s at the helm of the Raiders. 

As for female owners of NFL teams, there’s Sheila Firestone Ford Hamp of the Detroit Lions, Gayle Benson of the New Orleans Saints, Virginia Halas McCaskey of the Chicago Bears and Amy Adams Strunk of the Tennessee Titans. 

Women’s Impact on Football exhibit

Whether a woman will ever play for an NFL team is slim to unlikely at this point, let alone be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Players are typically given preference above coaches and other contributors for enshrinement. And the qualifications for such a prestigious honor, which are listed on the Hall of Fame website, use all-male pronouns to describe candidates. It’s a tight knit boys club, but women are making an impact in their own ways.