Fifty-two Modern-Era Players have advanced in the voting process for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 presented by Visual Edge IT. Candidates for the Hall in this category last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 2020 season.
Each member of the Modern-Era Players Screening Committee, an entity created a year ago to make the first reductions from the original list of nominees, cast a ballot for 50 individuals whom they believe should be considered for election. This year’s roster of nominees included 128 names — 77 offensive players, 42 defensive players and nine special teams players.
Under Hall of Fame bylaws, ties for the 50th position also remain eligible for the Class of 2026.
The 52 Modern-Era Players whose names now move to the full Selection Committee for further consideration for election as members of the Class of 2026 are:
(*-Finalist (final 15) for the Class of 2025. Underline indicates first year of eligibility.)
QUARTERBACKS (3): Drew Brees, *Eli Manning, Philip Rivers.
RUNNING BACKS (8): Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Frank Gore, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Lorenzo Neal (FB), *Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters.
WIDE RECEIVERS (7): Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, *Torry Holt, Jimmy Smith, *Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, *Reggie Wayne.
TIGHT ENDS (2): Greg Olsen, Jason Witten.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (12): *Willie Anderson (T), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), *Jahri Evans (G), Olin Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Maurkice Pouncey (C), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), *Marshal Yanda (G).
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (6): John Abraham (DE also LB), Robert Mathis (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT).
LINEBACKERS (4): London Fletcher, James Harrison, *Luke Kuechly, *Terrell Suggs.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (6): Rodney Harrison (S), Asante Samuel (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), *Darren Woodson (S).
PUNTERS/KICKERS (3): Gary Anderson (K), Shane Lechler (P), *Adam Vinatieri (K).
SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB).
In the next step of the process, each member of the Hall of Fame’s full 50-person Selection Committee will review the above list and cast a vote for the 25 nominees each believes should advance to the Semifinalist stage. The names of the 25 Semifinalists (plus ties, if any, for the 25th position) will be announced in about five weeks.
Because they reached the final list of seven Modern-Era Players under consideration for the Class of 2025 but were not elected, Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri automatically advance to the final 15 this election cycle.
Reduction votes also are occurring in the Seniors, Coach and Contributor categories. On Tuesday, the Hall of Fame released the list of 12 Coach candidates still under consideration. Later this week, progress in the Seniors and Contributor categories will be announced.
Eventually, 20 Finalists will be presented at the Selection Committee’s annual meeting next year in advance of Super Bowl LX: 15 Modern-Era Players, three Seniors, one Coach and one Contributor. While there is no set number of enshrinees for any class, the Hall of Fame’s selection process bylaws stipulate that between four and eight new members will be selected.
This year’s voting will be completed with oversight from the firm Ernst & Young LLP, a Hall partner since 2019. EY’s Agreed-Upon Procedures include validating the completeness of the ballots and tabulating the ballots in accordance with the bylaws established by the Hall of Fame’s Board of Directors.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 will be enshrined next August in Canton.
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