Julius Peppers shouts out Michael Jordan in Hall of Fame speech, shares heartwarming moment before ceremony

Many former members of the National Football League had their lifelong dreams fulfilled this weekend, as the 2024 class was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Carolina Panthers and North Carolina legend Julius Peppers was among the inductees. And he decided to give a shoutout to a fellow Tar Heel, Michael Jordan, in his speech.

Julius Peppers shared heartwarming moment with fellow #UNC legend Michael Jordan at Hall of Fame enshrinement.

“I’m not going to sit up here and act like my idol and one of the reasons I went to Chapel Hill is not in the building….

“MJ, I love you big bro.” 🩵 pic.twitter.com/l8R6tHhf24

— Grant Hughes (@GrantHughesNC) August 3, 2024

On Friday night, inductees were given their gold jackets. And on Saturday, their bronze busts were finally unveiled. In his induction speech on Saturday night, Peppers gave thanks to his Panthers teammates and coaches. He gave a shout-out to Mack Brown for recruiting him to North Carolina. He acknowledged his high school coach.

More on Julius Peppers’ career and his HOF induction speech

Peppers didn’t have to wait long for his induction. The Panthers selected this former North Carolina star with the second pick of the 2002 NFL Draft. He played in Carolina from 2002-09. Then after stints with the Bears and Packers, he joined the Panthers in 2017. Days before this year’s Super Bowl, the Pro Football Hall of Fame revealed he was one of the class of 2024. Peppers was so good that he earned a spot in the Hall the first time he was on the ballot.

The class of 2024 also featured six other players. The others joining Peppers were defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker Randy Gradishar, returnman Devin Hester, receiver Andre Johnson, defensive tackle Steve McMichael and linebacker Patrick Willis. All but McMichael were on hand in Canton, Ohio. McMichael, the former Chicago Bear and Texas Longhorn, has ALS and is unable to travel. Several legendary Bears and Hall of Fame officials went to McMichael’s home in Chicago to present him with his gold jacket and show him his bronze bust.

To acknowledge his Panthers teammates and those from the Bears and Packers, he said:

“I played 17 years. So there’s a lot of you guys out there. And I appreciate every single one of you just know that you guys are the reason that I worked so hard. And a big part of the reason that I’m standing up here today, you motivated me, you inspired me and we help each other.”

Then this Panthers great wrapped up his emotional speech.

“Now I’m going to close with what being a Hall of Famer means to me,” Peppers said. “It’s not about how many touchdowns you score or how many Super Bowl ring you have, even though those things are nice, it really comes down to who you are at your core and what’s in your heart?

“Are you resilient?” Peppers asked. “Do you stand tall in the face of adversity when things get tough or do you quit? Do you acknowledge other people’s contributions to your success or do you make it all about you. Being a Hall of Famer is one of my crowning achievements but it, but it extends far beyond, it extends to my family and it extends to my daily life.

“Everyone can’t play in an NFL game, and everyone can’t have a bust in Canton, but everyone can be a Hall of Famer in your own life.”

Then he finished with more inspirational words.

“You could be a Hall of Fame dad, a Hall of Fame student, teacher, spouse, coworker, friend. Whatever it is, whatever it is that you do, do it with respect, integrity, passion, resilience, dedication and gratitude. That alone will make you a Hall of Fame person and you too can have a legacy that lives on forever too,” Peppers finished.

On3’s Suzanne Halliburton also contributed to this article.