Longtime Vikings equipment manager receives award from Pro Football HOF

Dennis Ryan, who was with the Vikings from 1976 until his retirement in 2023, was honored by the Hall of Fame this week.

Longtime former Vikings equipment manager Dennis Ryan with his award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. | Minnesota Vikings on X/Twitter

Longtime former Minnesota Vikings equipment manager Dennis Ryan has received a 2025 Award of Excellence from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was chosen for the award in March and honored this week at the HOF in Canton, OH.

Congratulations to long-time #Vikings Equipment Manager Dennis Ryan on receiving the @ProFootballHOF Award of Excellence!

👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/SsuOOIVXQY

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) June 27, 2025

The Awards of Excellence program was created by the Hall in 2022 to "recognize individuals from five categories who have helped drive the accomplishments of their profession, individual NFL Clubs and the sport of pro football." More simply, the idea is to "recognize significant contributors to the game in 'behind-the-scenes' roles."

This was the fourth year of the awards, which were given to 15 people. Three winners were selected from the following categories: assistant coaches, athletic trainers, equipment managers, film/video directors, and public relations directors.

The Hall honored the 15 recipients on Wednesday with an evening reception. The awards were presented on Thursday in an event hosted by Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, with other NFL legends in attendance.

Ryan began his career with the Vikings in 1976, when he got a part-time job as a teenager. Five years later, he became the youngest equipment manager in the NFL. Ryan wound up spending 47 seasons with the Vikings until his retirement in April 2023. He had a streak of 705 consecutive games worked, which was broken by COVID protocols during the 2021 campaign. Ryan won the Whitey Zimmerman Award as the NFL's top equipment manager in 1996 and 2017.

Shortly after Ryan retired, the Vikings named their equipment room after him. Mike Parson was hired as his replacement and is heading into his third season with Minnesota this fall.