Pro Football Hall of Fame announces 167 modern-era players nominated for Class of 2025

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 167 modern-era players nominated for its 2025 class. Sixteen players are on the list in their first year of eligibility, including offensive linemen Travis Frederick, Ryan Kalil, Joe Staley and Marshal Yanda. 

Quarterback Eli Manning, running backs Marshawn Lynch and Darren Sproles, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, linebackers Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs, defensive backs Antoine Bethea, Aqib Talib and Earl Thomas and kicker Adam Vinatieri also find themselves on the list for the first time.

Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago in order to be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

In October, the final 50 players, chosen by a screening committee, will be announced. The 50-person Hall of Fame Selection Committee will then make another round of cuts, bringing the list to 25 semifinalists. The list gets reduced to 15 finalists and ahead of Super Bowl LVIX they will decided on three to five Modern-Era players for the next Hall of Fame class. 

Here is a look at all the finalists, by position:

QUARTERBACKS (10): Marc Bulger, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Doug Flutie, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Eli Manning, Steve McNair, Tony Romo

RUNNING BACKS (31): Shaun Alexander, Terry Allen, Jamal Anderson, Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Jamaal Charles, Stephen Davis, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Charlie Garner, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, John Kuhn (FB), Vonta Leach, Dorsey Levens, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, Eric Metcalf (WR/PR/KR), Glyn Milburn (WR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Clinton Portis, Tony Richardson (FB), Robert Smith, Darren Sproles (PR/KR), Fred Taylor, Chris Warren, Ricky Watters, Ricky Williams

WIDE RECEIVERS (21): Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Antonio Freeman, Irving Fryar, Torry Holt, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Demaryius Thomas, Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White

TIGHT ENDS (6): Ben Coates, Vernon Davis, Antonio Gates, Jeremy Shockey, Delanie Walker, Wesley Walls

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (26): Willie Anderson (T), Bruce Armstrong (T/G), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans (G), Travis Frederick (C), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Lincoln Kennedy (T), Olin Kreutz (C), T.J. Lang (G/T), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Josh Sitton (G), Chris Snee (G), Joe Staley (T), Dave Szott (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), Marshal Yanda (G)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (18): John Abraham (DE, LB), Jared Allen (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Chester McGlockton (DT), Haloti Ngata (DT), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Henry Thomas (DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Jamal Williams (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT), Pat Williams (DT)

LINEBACKERS (20): Jessie Armstead, Brendon Ayanbadejo, Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Keith Brooking, NaVorro Bowman, Tedy Bruschi, Donnie Edwards, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Luke Kuechly, Willie McGinest (DE), Ken Norton Jr., Julian Peterson, Bill Romanowski, Takeo Spikes, Terrell Suggs, Mike Vrabel, Lee Woodall

DEFENSIVE BACKS (18): Eric Allen (CB), Eric Berry (DB), Antoine Bethea (S), Dré Bly (DB), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (DB), Antonio Cromartie (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), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Darren Woodson (S)

PUNTERS/KICKERS (15): 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)

SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR, WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR, RB)