130 Modern-Era Nominees for the Hall of Fame's Class of 2021

The Modern-Era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 is comprised of 130 players. Among the group announced Wednesday are 14 first-year eligible players, including quarterback Peyton Manning; running back Steven Jackson; wide receivers Calvin Johnson, Wes Welker and Roddy White; tight end Heath Miller; offensive linemen D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Logan Mankins; defensive linemen Jared Allen, Justin Tuck and Kevin Williams; linebacker Jerod Mayo; and defensive backs Charles Tillman and Charles Woodson.

The roster of nominees consists of 65 offensive players, 49 defensive players and 16 special teams players. The list of Modern-Era nominees will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 finalists in January.

MODERN-ERA NOMINEES FOR THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2021

*Finalist in 2020. Underline indicates first year of eligibility. (Players and coaches must have last played or coached at least five full seasons to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played or coached in 2015 is eligible for the first time in 2021.)

QUARTERBACKS
(8): Drew Bledsoe, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, Dave Krieg, Peyton Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair

RUNNING BACKS
(17): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Earnest Byner, Larry Centers, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Jamal Lewis, Eric Metcalf (also WR/KR/PR), Glyn Milburn (also WR/KR/PR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Fred Taylor, Herschel Walker (also KR), Ricky Watters

WIDE RECEIVERS
(13): Donald Driver, Henry Ellard (also PR), *Torry Holt, Calvin Johnson, Chad Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Hines Ward, *Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White 

TIGHT ENDS
(7): Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Keith Jackson, Brent Jones, Heath Miller, Jeremy Shockey, Wesley Walls

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
(20): Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), *Tony Boselli (T), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), *Alan Faneca (G), D’Brickashaw Ferguson (T), Kevin Glover (C/G), Jordan Gross (T), Kent Hull (C), Olin Kreutz (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Chris Samuels (T), Jeff Saturday (C), Chris Snee (G), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G)

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
(15): John Abraham (DE also LB), Jared Allen (DE), Ray Childress (DT/DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Leslie O’Neal (DE), Michael Dean Perry (DT/DE), Simeon Rice (DE), *Richard Seymour (DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Greg Townsend (DE/LB/DT/NT), Justin Tuck (DE), Kevin Williams (DT), *Bryant Young (DT)

LINEBACKERS
(16): Cornelius Bennett, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, London Fletcher, Seth Joyner, Clay Matthews Jr., Jerod Mayo, Willie McGinest (also DE), *Sam Mills, Joey Porter, Chris Spielman, Takeo Spikes, Pat Swilling (also DE), Darryl Talley, *Zach Thomas, Patrick Willis

DEFENSIVE BACKS
(18): Eric Allen (CB), Ronde Barber (CB/S), *LeRoy Butler (S), Nick Collins (S), Merton Hanks (S), Rodney Harrison (S), James Hasty (DB), Albert Lewis (CB), *John Lynch (S), Tim McDonald (S), Allen Rossum (DB), Asante Samuel (DB), Bob Sanders (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), Charles Woodson (CB/S), Darren Woodson (S)

PUNTERS/KICKERS
(12): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Ryan Longwell (K), Nick Lowery (K), Reggie Roby (P), Rohn Stark (P), Matt Turk (P)

SPECIAL TEAMS
(4): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Mel Gray (PR/KR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB), Steve Tasker (ST also WR)

Eighteen Finalists will be presented to the full 48-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting on “Selection Saturday,” the day before Super Bowl LV. The Finalists will consist of 15 Modern-Era Finalists and the recently named Senior Finalist, Drew Pearson; Contributor Finalist, Bill Nunn; and Coach Finalist, Tom Flores.

The Selection Committee will meet Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 in Tampa, Fla., to elect the Class of 2021. While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the selection process by-laws provide that between four and eight new members will be selected. 

The Senior Finalist, Contributor Finalist and Coach Finalist are voted “yes” or “no” for election at the annual selection meeting and must receive at least 80 percent support from the Committee to be elected. The Modern-Era Finalists will be trimmed during the meeting from 15 to 10, then from 10 to five. The remaining five finalists will be voted on individually, “yes” or “no,” and must receive the same 80 percent positive vote as the Senior, Contributor and Coach Finalists to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 will be enshrined Sunday, Aug. 8, 2021 in Canton as part of the 2021 Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls. Other events during the week of festivities will include the rescheduled Hall of Fame Game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 5, the Gold Jacket Dinner on Aug. 6 and the Centennial Class of 2020 Enshrinement on Aug. 7. For more information, visit https://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/

FAN VOTE

The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Vote presented by Ford launched today. Fans can now start voting as many times as they wish at www.profootballhof.com/fanvote to predict the five Modern-Era players who will be elected to the Hall of Fame as part of the special Centennial Class of 2021. 

Fans who vote automatically become eligible for many sweepstakes prizes, including a Grand Prize trip for two (2) to the 2021 Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls in Canton.

This marks the 11^th straight year that Ford, the Official Automobile of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, has invited fans to predict the outcome of the annual Hall of Fame class. More than 25 million votes have been cast in the past decade.

2021 ENSHRINEMENT WEEK POWERED BY JOHNSON CONTROLS OFFICIAL TICKET PACKAGES

Official Ticket Packages for the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls are coming soon from Hall of Fame Experiences. Be the first to know when ticket packages go on sale by heading to www.HOFExperiences.com and joining the Class of 2021 waitlist, or secure your access early through the deposit program. When available, ticket packages can also be found by calling 844-751-0532. Packages range from single-day offerings to four-day experiences that include premium seating, VIP access and exclusive parties.