{"id":455128,"date":"2026-02-05T08:49:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T08:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/455128\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T08:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T08:49:09","slug":"jon-hamm-comes-full-circle-hosting-nfl-honors-15-years-after-attending-inaugural-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/455128\/","title":{"rendered":"Jon Hamm comes full circle, hosting NFL Honors 15 years after attending inaugural ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) \u2014 When Jon Hamm<\/a> first attended the NFL Honors,<\/a> the league\u2019s annual awards show was still finding its footing. It was a relatively new addition to Super Bowl week that had yet to fully define what it would become.<\/p>\n

Now, the Emmy-winning actor will take the stage as host as the NFL Honors mark their 15th anniversary on Thursday night in San Francisco. The show, airing on NBC and NFL Network, will serve as a capstone to the season just days before the Super Bowl.<\/a><\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cThey didn\u2019t really know what it was going to be, but it was fun,\u201d Hamm said Wednesday after rehearsals at the Palace of Fine Arts. The actor said he enjoyed watching Alec Baldwin host the first-ever ceremony in 2012.<\/p>\n

Hamm brings an extensive hosting experience to the role, having previously led shows ranging from Saturday Night Live<\/a> to the ESPYs. But he said the NFL Honors require a specific approach.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not trying to break new ground in comedy or make anything that\u2019s going to offend anybody,\u201d said Hamm, who won a 2015 Primetime Emmy for his portrayal of Don Draper on AMC’s \u201cMad Men.\u201d He’s also appeared in projects including \u201c30 Rock,\u201d \u201cThe Morning Show” and now the Apple TV Plus series \u201cYour Friends & Neighbors.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re here to celebrate the players and their season and then push everybody into a good mood … I think it\u2019s going to be a pretty good Super Bowl,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Hamm said the NFL Honors have grown into something meaningful for players across the league, especially those whose accomplishments are not always tied to postseason success. He pointed to standout individual achievements that still deserve recognition.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou got guys like Myles Garrett breaking the sack record,\u201d Hamm said. \u201cHe ain\u2019t sniffing the Super Bowl, but it\u2019s still something to be celebrated, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

The NFL Honors have evolved into a night players anticipate, Hamm said, in part because of the rare opportunity it gives them to gather in one place.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in a room with their peers. Everybody knows everybody,\u201d he said. \u201cThey only play 17, 18 games. \u2026 It\u2019s nice for them to get celebrated the way they should.\u201d<\/p>\n

A lifelong football fan, Hamm grew up in St. Louis following the Cardinals and Rams before later rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs. Hosting the ceremony, he said, means stepping back from team allegiances.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not about one team,\u201d Hamm said. \u201cIt\u2019s about honoring the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond football, Hamm said Super Bowl week reflects a larger cultural moment, including the rise of global music stars such as Bad Bunny,<\/a> who is set to headline the Super Bowl halftime show after coming off a major Grammys night \u2014 where his project \u201dDeb\u00ed Tirar M\u00e1s Fotos\u201d<\/a> won album of year<\/a>. It\u2019s the first time an all Spanish-language album<\/a> has taken home the top prize.<\/p>\n

“I was happy to see his success at the Grammys,\u201d said Hamm, who attended Bad Bunny’s historic residency in 2025. He and the Puerto Rican superstar have become friends and even share the same birthday.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was beautifully eloquent. \u2026 He\u2019s a very intelligent guy. He\u2019s a wonderful artist, number one streamed artist in the world for a reason,\u201d he said. \u201cHe\u2019s smart enough to realize that engagement is the key. So I applaud him as an artist and as a fellow Pisces and a fellow March 10 birthday man. He\u2019s a good dude.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the NFL Honors celebrate their milestone year, Hamm said the night is ultimately about bringing people together before the Super Bowl matchup between the Seattle Seahawks<\/a> and New England Patriots.<\/a> He said the ceremony is a gathering point during the week.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe appetizer,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

For more on the Super Bowl, visit https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nfl<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN FRANCISCO (AP) \u2014 When Jon Hamm first attended the NFL Honors, the league\u2019s annual awards show was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455129,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,33141,1727,2214,1718,514,171592,16072,13279,1739,82,19501,25121],"class_list":["post-455128","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-jon-hamm","tag-kansas-city-chiefs","tag-myles-garrett","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-nfl","tag-nfl-honors","tag-nfl-network","tag-rams","tag-seattle-seahawks","tag-sports","tag-super-bowl","tag-the-nfl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455128","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455128"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455128\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455129"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455128"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455128"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455128"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}