Short answers, pulled from the story.
The first Pro Football Hall of Fame Game was played on the 11th of August 1962, between the New York Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals, ending in a 21-21 tie. It was created as a fundraiser for the construction of the Hall of Fame building in Canton, Ohio.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Game is played at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The stadium is part of the Hall of Fame Village and sits adjacent to the Hall of Fame building itself.
The 2016 game between the Green Bay Packers and the Indianapolis Colts was canceled due to unsafe field conditions. Paint applied to the synthetic FieldTurf logos had not dried; attempts to heat the field melted the rubber infill, and a subsequent application of paint thinner posed a burn risk to players. Both teams were notified at 6:40 p.m. EDT, eighty minutes before kickoff.
The NFL selects the two participating teams in advance, typically announcing them around Super Bowl week when the new Hall of Fame class is revealed. Since 2011, each chosen team has had at least one prominent alumnus entering the Hall that year. When a particularly notable inductee is involved, the league often picks a team closely associated with that player to maximize attendance.
As of the Baltimore Ravens' appearance in 2018, all 32 current NFL teams have appeared in the Hall of Fame Game at least once. The Ravens were the last franchise to make their debut, having been officially established in 1996 following the Cleveland Browns' relocation.
NBC has aired the Hall of Fame Game as part of its Sunday Night Football package for most years since 2006. In Summer Olympics years, including 2012, 2016, 2021, and 2024, the game is sold to another NFL media partner such as NFL Network, ESPN/ABC, or Fox. CBS is the only major linear television network that has never broadcast the game.