1 day Ago By USA TODAY Sports
Former quarterback and few other familiar Super Bowl performers are among the 167 modern-day nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Running back , kicker , defensive end and late wide receiver are among first-year nominees with Lombardi Trophy resumes. That list also includes offensive tackle , safety , center and tight end .
In an evolved process, the 2025 selection protocol changed to include a committee assigned to "screen" the larger list of modern-day candidates to 50 finalists over the next month. From there, the 50-person Hall of Fame Selection Committee trims the list to 25 semifinalists and a second vote narrows the pool to 15 finalists. The committee debates the merits of the finalists and selects the new class to be introduced one day prior to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans in February.
Players are required to be five full seasons from their last game to be eligible for nomination, meaning anyone who last played during the 2019 season is eligible for the first time in the 2025 class. Multiple finalists from the 2024 Hall of Fame class are nominated again, including wide receivers and Torry Holt, pass rusher , offensive linemen Willie Anderson and , running back Fred Taylor and defensive backs and Darren Woodson. Manning is one of 10 quarterbacks nominated for the 2025 class.
Late quarterback Steve McNair, former and quarterback Randall Cunningham and ( ) are repeat nominees. A two-time Super Bowl winner and the No. 1 pick in 2004, Manning played 16 seasons in the NFL with the New York Giants.
He was MVP of both Super Bowl wins and he played 236 regular-season games (234 starts) with the Giants, who acquired the Ole Miss product in a draft-day trade — from the Chargers for No. 4 pick . Manning beat the in — was 18-0 — and with fourth-quarter drives to take the lead.
Manning is one of 21 quarterbacks to win a Super Bowl without losing one. Older brother was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. Former Eli Manning teammate Tiki Barber is a 2025 nominee also bidding to join his brother in Canton.
Barber was a running back with the Giants and is the twin of longtime cornerback Ronde Barber, who was a member of the 2023 Hall of Fame Class. The running back nominees include Shaun Alexander ( ), Jamal Lewis ( ), Clinton Portis (Washington, ), Corey Dillon ( , ) and ( , ). , who retired in 2021, and , are not yet eligible.
Gore is fifth on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 16,000 yards in a career that spanned five teams from 2005-2020 and Peterson is No. 5 on the list (14,918). Lynch was known as "Beast Mode" for .
He retired for the first time in 2015 due to injuries, then returned to play for his then-hometown Oakland Raiders in 2017. After another retirement, Lynch returned to join the Seattle Seahawks for the last game of the regular season and playoffs. A first-round pick of the in 2007, he joined the Seahawks in 2010.
He had 10,413 rushing yards and 94 touchdowns and played a starring role with the Seahawks in two Super Bowls. Lynch was a member of Seattle's Super Bowl-winning team ( ) in his fourth season with the team. Barber is narrowly ahead of Lynch on the NFL's all-time rushing list — with 10,449 yards — and one of 31 backs with more than 10,000 career rushing yards.
Sixteen are in the Hall of Fame. Former McNair teammate and longtime Titans running back Eddie George is between Barber and Lynch on the NFL's all-time rushing list and one of 31 running backs nominated. Vinatieri played 24 seasons in the NFL with the Patriots and .
Undrafted in 1996, Vinatieri would become synonymous with playoff success on Bill Belichick-coached teams, winning four Super Bowl ( , , , ). He signed with Indianapolis following the 2005 season to help Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy and quarterback Peyton Manning win the Super Bowl with the Colts in February 2007. A number of other players tied to the Patriots' dynasty are nominees, including , Mike Vrabel, , Willie McGinest and 2024 finalist Rodney Harrison.
Vinatieri retired in 2019 after 24 seasons as the NFL's all-time leading scorer (2,673 points) and holding league records for field goals made (599), postseason points (238) and field goals made in overtime (12). Previous Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt and Vinatieri special teams teammate in Indianapolis, punter , are 2025 nominees. A two-time All-Pro and five-time Pro Bowl selection, Thomas was Peyton Manning's lead receiver when the Broncos claimed Super Bowl 50 over the in 2016.
Thomas caught 63 touchdowns in his career and totaled 9,763 receiving yards in his career which included part of the 2018 season with the and short stints with the Patriots and Jets in 2019. He died at age 33 in 2021. * - 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Doug Flutie, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Tony Romo Shaun Alexander, Terry Allen, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), , Stephen Davis, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Garner, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, , , Thomas Jones, John Kuhn (FB), Vonta Leach, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Glyn Milburn (also WR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Clinton Portis, Tony Richardson (FB), Robert Smith, (also PR/KR), Fred Taylor*, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, Ricky Williams , Donald Driver, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Torry Holt*, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, , Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, , Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr.
, Demaryius Thomas, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne*, Wes Welker, Roddy White Ben Coates, Vernon Davis, , Jeremy Shockey, * , Wesley Walls Willie Anderson* (T), Bruce Armstrong (T/G), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans* (G), (C), (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Lincoln Kennedy (T), Olin Kreutz (C), T.J. Lang (G/T), (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), (G), (G), Joe Staley (T), Dave Szott (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), (G) John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen* (DE), La'Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), (DE), Chester McGlockton (DT), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Henry Thomas (DT/NT), (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), (DT/NT), (DT), Pat Williams (DT) Jessie Armstead, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Keith Brooking, NaVorro Bowman, Tedy Bruschi, Donnie Edwards, James Farrior, London Fletcher, , Luke Kuechly, Willie McGinest (also DE), Ken Norton Jr.
, Julian Peterson, Bill Romanowski, Takeo Spikes, Terrell Suggs, Mike Vrabel, Lee Woodall Eric Allen* (CB), (DB), (S), Dré Bly (DB), (S), Nick Collins (DB), (CB), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison* (S), Eugene Robinson (DB), Samari Rolle (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Aqib Talib (CB), Earl Thomas (S), (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson* (S) David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Darren Bennett (P), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Pat McAfee (P), Brian Moorman (P), Matt Stover (K), Matt Turk (P), Mike Vanderjagt (K), Adam Vinatieri (K) Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB).
