Jon Hamm will host the NFL Honors. Of course he will. The man who played Don Draper—television's most compelling study in masculine charm and barely concealed desperation—is now the face of the NFL's biggest awards night. It makes perfect sense in that weird way the NFL always makes sense.
The announcement dropped Monday. Hamm takes over from Snoop Dogg, who hosted last year's ceremony and brought exactly the energy you'd expect from Snoop Dogg hosting anything. This year, the 15th annual NFL Honors will be held Thursday, February 5, at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco—three days before Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara.
Why Hamm works
The 54-year-old actor is a lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan, which the NFL loves because the Chiefs are basically the league's main characters at this point. Last February, Hamm introduced his team before their matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX. He's been showing up at Arrowhead for years. He's not a celebrity parachuted in for credibility—he actually watches the games.
"Week after week, the NFL delivers performances that remind you why this game means so much to so many people," Hamm said in a statement. "I'm honored to host an evening that celebrates the players, their immense talents and the unforgettable moments that defined this season."
That's the kind of media-trained quote that tells you nothing and everything at the same time. Hamm knows how to play this game.
What to expect
NFL Honors is where the league hands out its major awards—Most Valuable Player, Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, Comeback Player, Rookie of the Year, Coach of the Year. It's also where the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026 gets announced, which always generates more genuine emotion than any of the performance awards.
This year brings something new: the Protector of the Year Award, recognizing the league's best offensive lineman. The winner will be selected by a panel of former NFL offensive linemen including Jason Kelce, Orlando Pace, Will Shields, LeCharles Bentley, Shaun O'Hara, and Andrew Whitworth. It's the only on-field award decided by veterans who actually played the position, which feels right. Nobody understands what makes a great offensive lineman except other offensive linemen.
The ceremony airs live at 9 p.m. ET on NBC and NFL Network, with streaming on Peacock and NFL+. The red carpet show starts an hour earlier on NFL Network for those who care about that sort of thing.
The real storyline
Look, nobody tunes in to NFL Honors for the hosting. They tune in to find out who wins MVP, and this year that question is genuinely interesting. Drake Maye and Matthew Stafford have spent the last month trading the lead like heavyweight boxers who can't quite land a knockout punch. The announcement will probably be the highlight of the evening, regardless of who takes it home.
But Hamm should be fine. He's charming in that old-school leading man way, he actually cares about football, and he's not going to try too hard to be funny. That last part matters more than people think. The NFL Honors doesn't need a comedian—it needs someone who can make rich guys in suits feel comfortable while handing out trophies.
Don Draper could definitely do that. Jon Hamm probably can too.