on january 31, 2009, wilson was elected to the pro football hall of fame along with former buffalo bills defensive end bruce smith. the hall of fame game, played the day after the 2009 inductions, strayed from the usual afc–nfc format and instead was contested by two original american football league teams: the buffalo bills and the tennessee titans (formerly the houston oilers). this matchup was announced after wilson was elected. like wilson, titans owner bud adams was the only owner his team has ever had, and the two were the only living members of the "foolish club", the founders of the original eight afl teams. wilson and adams are two of only four men who have owned a professional football franchise continuously for fifty years (george halas, who owned the chicago bears from 1920 until his death in 1983, is the third, and william clay ford sr., wilson's neighbor, who owned the detroit lions from 1961 to 2014, is the fourth).