REUTERS/Scott Audette
By Ross Jackson
METAIRIE, La. – The New Orleans Saints have announced the team’s 2025 Hall of Fame class and honorees.
Cornerback Tracy Porter and safety Brett Maxie have been selected for induction into the Saints Hall of Fame in 2025. The Saints will also give two awards presented by the selection committee.
Congrats to Tracy Porter (@lyfeoftp) on being selected as a member of the Saints Hall of Fame 2025 Class! 🙌@HallSaints | #Saints pic.twitter.com/VuseyTE0YK
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) June 18, 2025
The Joe Gemelli “Fleur de Lis” award will be given posthumously to former WGNO Sports Director Ed Daniels.
Former safety Steve Gleason will be honored with the Saints Hall of Fame Courage Award.
Porter is best known among Saints fans for delivering one of the most exciting plays in the team’s history by returning a 74-yard interception for a touchdown to clinch the Saints’ victory in Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints’ announcement press release called it “one of the most iconic plays in Saints history…”
That time Tracy Porter picked off Peyton Manning and took it to the house in @SuperBowl XLIV 🙌 (Feb. 7, 2010)@lyfeoftp | @Saints #INDvsNO: Tonight at 8:15pm ET on ESPN pic.twitter.com/tpjMKDEFHq
— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) December 16, 2019
Maxie goes from undrafted free agent to Saints Hall of Famer after playing nine seasons with the Saints out of Texas Southern. He’s noted as one of the best to play the position in the team’s history as a part of the famed Dome Patrol defense. Maxie appeared in 118 games and secured a whopping 438 tackles (No. 4) along with 15 interceptions (T-No. 8).
Daniels, a New Orleans native and graduate of Rummel High School and Loyola University worked all around the Louisiana area covering sports. He landed at WGNO in 1992 and remained there for the rest of his career. He received the New Orleans Press Club’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 and is a three-time Louisiana Sportscaster of the year. He passed away nearly a year ago at the age of 67.
Gleason, like Porter, is known for another one of the most electrifying plays in the team’s history and may own one of the most important memories in many Louisiana sports fan’s minds. In the team’s return to the Superdome in 2006 following Hurricane Katrina, Gleason’s blocked punt that was recovered for a touchdown carries the powerful nickname of “Rebirth” as a representation of the revitalization of the Saints franchise following the devastating storm. The moment is memorized outside of the Caesars Superdome with a statue standing between the area and Champions Square.
The first game back at home after Katrina took it all away from us. Against the team we hate the most. Memories of Steve Gleason (and now Drew Brees potentially). The roar of the crowd. The chills. The REBIRTH. I was nine years old. pic.twitter.com/ylbEhDLlm7
— IG: Vanity.Vae (@VanityVae) March 4, 2021
Per the Saints’ press release, inducting and honoring events will take place later this year.
“Events surrounding the induction of Porter and Maxie, and the recognition of Daniels and Gleason will take place on the weekend of December 14, surrounding the Saints-Carolina Panthers game.”
