A day before Super Bowl LIX is held in New Orleans this upcoming February, the NFL Hall of Fame Selection Committee will release its list of 15 inductees as part of the 2025 class. This year, 167 modern-day candidates will be considered for the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the committee choosing 50 finalists and semi-finalists before the chosen 15 are revealed.
Joining the star-studded list of 2024 finalists and semi-finalists is a strong group of first-year eligible players highlighted by quarterback Eli Manning, linebackers Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs and Clay Matthews, offensive linemen Marshal Yanda, Joe Staley, Ryan Kalil, running backs Darren Sproles and Marshawn Lynch, cornerback Aqib Talib, placekicker Adam Vinatieri and receiver Demaryius Thomas.
Eli Manning played the entirety of his 16-year NFL career (2004-2019) with the New York Giants, helping the team to victory in Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLIV. In both Super Bowls, Manning led the Giants to upset wins over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, with the Giants in Super Bowl XLII dealing New England, which had gone 18-0 in the regular season and playoffs, its only defeat of the year. Manning won Super Bowl MVP in both games. His 2011 postseason performance en route to his second Super Bowl win saw Manning set NFL records for passing yards (1,219) and completions (106). A four-time Pro Bowl selection (2008, 2011, 2012, 2015), Manning is a member of the New York Giants Ring of Honor and his No. 10 has been retired by the team. He finished his career with 57,023 yards, 36 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 60.3%. In 2016, he was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year. Manning was the first overall NFL Draft selection out of Ole Miss in 2003.
Like Manning, Luke Keuchly played his entire NFL career from 2012-2019 with one team, the Carolina Panthers. Named to seven straight Pro Bowls from 2013-2019, Keuchly was a five-time First-Team All-Pro selection (2013-2015, 2017, 2018) and in 2016 and 2019, was named Second-Team All-Pro. Keuchly was the winner of the Butkus Award three times (2014, 2015, 2017) as the top linebacker in the NFL. In 2013, he recorded 156 tackles, two sacks and four interceptions for the Panthers, winning Defensive Player of the Year honors. The prior season, his first in the NFL, Keuchly posted 164 tackles, winning Defensive Rookie of the Year. Keuchly enjoyed a decorated career at Boston College from 2009-2011 prior to being chosen in the first round (No. 9 overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Panthers. Winner of honors such as the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Lombardi Award, Lott Trophy, Jack Lambert Trophy and the collegiate Butkus Award, Keuchly was the ACC Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2009 and its Defensive Player of the Year in 2011. In 2023, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Terrell Suggs played from 2003-2019, spending his first 16 seasons with the Baltimore Ravens before finishing his career with the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs. A seven-time Pro Bowler (2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2017), Suggs won Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens and Super Bowl LIV with Kansas City. In 2011, he was named First-Team All-Pro, recording 70 tackles, including 20 for loss, as well as a career-high 14 sacks, winning him NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors. Suggs was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003. He recorded 886 tackles in his career along with 139 sacks and owns the NFL record for tackles for loss (202). Winner of the pro Butkus Award in 2011, Suggs is a member of the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor. At Arizona State, Suggs earned back-to-back First-Team All-Pac-10 selections in 2001 and 2002, winning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2002 as well as unanimous All-American honors. In 2002, he also won the Ted Hendricks Award, Lombardi Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, Bill Willis Trophy and Morris Trophy.
Clay Matthews played 11 years in the NFL, spending 2009-2018 with the Green Bay Packers and 2019 with the Los Angeles Rams. Named to six Pro Bowls (2009-2012, 2014-2015), Matthews recorded 519 tackles, 91.5 sacks, six interceptions and 17 forced fumbles in his career. In 2010, he posted 54 tackles and a career-high 13.5 sacks, winning a championship with the Packers, who defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Individually, Matthews earned First-Team All-Pro honors for the year as well as the Butkus Trophy as the NFL’s best linebacker. Matthews had another strong campaign in 2012, racking up 13 sacks and Second-Team All-Pro accolades. His 83.5 sacks with the team is a franchise record and he’s a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Collegiately at Southern Cal, Matthews won three straight Rose Bowls from 2007-2009 before Green Bay picked him in the first round (No. 26 overall) of the 2009 NFL Draft. At USC, Matthews won Second-Team All-Pac-10 honors and was named the conference’s Special Teams Player of the Year three straight times from 2006-2008.
Marhsal Yanda played 13 seasons in the NFL from 2007-2019, all with the Baltimore Ravens. A Super Bowl XLVII winner with the team, Yanda anchored Baltimore’s offensive line for more than a decade, starting 166 games at guard for the Ravens. He was named to eight Pro Bowls (2011-2016, 2018-2019) and earned First-Team All-Pro honors in 2014 and 2015. In 2011, 2012, 2016, 2018 and 2019, Yanda was named Second-Team All-Pro. A member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team, Yanda is enshrined within the Baltimore Ravens Ring of Honor. Yanda completed six full seasons without being flagged for holding. Over 177 career games, he was called for holding only 11 times. In 2007, Yanda earned a spot on the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team. Yanda played college football at Iowa from 2005-2006 and was a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection as a senior. The Ravens picked him in the third round (No. 86 overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft.
Joe Staley is a former offensive tackle who spent his entire 13-year NFL career from 2007-2019 with the San Francisco 49ers, playing and starting 181 games. A first-round (No. 28 overall) selection by the 49ers in the 2007 NFL Draft, Staley was named to six Pro Bowl teams (2011-2015, 2017). In three straight seasons from 2011-2013, he was also a Second-Team All-Pro. The 2011 campaign saw Staley contribute to a 49ers run game that produced over 2,000 yards on the year. Staley helped San Francisco to an 11-4-1 record in 2012 with the 49ers going on to appear in Super Bowl XLVII. In 2019, his final NFL season, Staley and San Francisco played in Super Bowl LIV. Following his first NFL campaign in 2007, Staley was named to the Pro Football Writers Association All-Rookie Team. He is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. Staley played college football at Central Michigan.
Ryan Kalil played center for the Carolina Panthers from 2007-2018, wrapping-up his 13-year NFL career in 2019 with the New York Jets. He was named to five Pro Bowls (2009-2011, 2013, 2015), all with Carolina, earning first-team All-Pro honors in 2013 and 2015. Kalil was named Second-Team All-Pro in 2011. Selected by fellow players in the NFL as one of the Top 100 Players in the league several times in his career, Staley helped Carolina go 15-1 in 2015, culminating in a Super Bowl 50 appearance. Kalil enjoyed a solid collegiate career at Southern California from 2003-2006, helping the Trojans win a pair of national championships. A two-time First-Team All-Pac-10 selection as a junior and senior, Kalil was a first-team All-American in 2006 and won the Morris Trophy that year as the Pac-10’s best offensive lineman. The Panthers picked him in the second round (No. 39 overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft. Since retiring from the NFL, Kalil has been active in film production, selling and creating television shows and screening a short film at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2019. He has also launched his own podcast network.
Darren Sproles enjoyed a unique NFL career as a running back and return specialist from 2005-2019 with the San Diego Chargers (2005-2010), New Orleans Saints (2011-2013) and Philadelphia Eagles (2014-2019). He amassed 3,552 career rushing yards, 4,840 receiving yards on 553 receptions and 11,313 return yards over the course of his career. Sproles, a three-time Pro Bowl selection (2014-2016), ranks fifth all-time in NFL history with 19,696 all-purpose yards. He won a Super Bowl LII ring as a member of the Eagles in 2018 and is a member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team. In 2011, his first in New Orleans, Sproles started only four games for the Saints but totaled 710 receiving yards, 603 rushing yards, 294 yards on punt returns and a further 1,089 kickoff return yards. In addition to an NFL single-season record 2,696 all-purpose yards, Sproles also scored 11 touchdowns. Sproles played college football at Kansas State from 2001-2004, earning back-to-back First-Team All-Big 12 honors in 2003 and 2004. He was also a First-Team All-American in 2003. In 2021, Sproles was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. After retiring from the NFL, Sproles worked in Philadelphia’s front office as a consultant.
Aqib Talib played 12 NFL seasons from 2008-2019 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2008-2012), New England Patriots (2012-2013), Denver Broncos (2014-2017), Los Angeles Rams (2018-2019) and Miami Dolphins (2019). Talib recorded 35 interceptions in his career along with 463 tackles, 125 pass deflections and 10 touchdowns. For five straight seasons (2013-2017), Talib was selected to the Pro Bowl, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2016 and Second-Team All-Pro accolades in 2013. Talib was a starting cornerback on the 2015 Broncos squad that went 12-4 and beat Carolina in Super Bowl 50, giving him a championship ring. The Buccaneers selected Talib 20th overall in the 2008 NFL Draft after a standout collegiate career at Kansas. While with the Jayhawks, Talib was a unanimous All-American in 2007 and two-time First-Team All-Big 12 selection in 2006 and 2007. He also captured the Jack Tatum Trophy in 2007 as the nation’s top defensive back.
Marshawn Lynch played from 2007-2019, most notably with the Seattle Seahawks (2010-2015, 2019) and also the Buffalo Bills (2007-2010) and Oakland Raiders (2017-2018). A five-time Pro Bowl pick (2008, 2011-2014), Lynch rushed for 10,413 and 85 touchdowns in his career. He was a first-time All-Pro selection in 2012, earned Second-Team All-Pro honors in 2014 and posted six 1,000-plus-yard seasons. In 2013, Lynch rushed for 1,257 yards and an NFL-leading 12 rushing touchdowns, winning Super Bowl XLVIII with Seattle. The following year, he again led the NFL in touchdowns (13), finishing with 1,306 yards. A member of the NFL 2010s All-Decade team, Lynch owns 17 individual Seahawks franchise records. He played college football at Cal, earning First Team All-American, First-Team All-Pac-10 and Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2006.
Adam Vinatieri spent 24 seasons as a placekicker for the New England Patriots (1996 – 2005) and Indianapolis Colts (2006 – 2019) and is the NFL’s all-time leading scorer with 2,673 points and a record 599 field goals. He’s also the only player to score at least 1,000 points with two different teams. Vinatieri is considered one of the NFL’s all-time clutch placekickers, which is evidenced by 29 game-winning kicks. He won four Super Bowls – three with the Patriots and one with the Colts – and made game-winning kicks in two Super Bowls, XXXVI and XXXVIII. He’s a member of the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Demaryius Thomas, who passed away in December of 2021 at the age of 33, is up for posthumous induction to the Hall of Fame. A 10-year NFL veteran, he played the majority of his career with the Denver Broncos (2010-2018) and also the Houston Texans (2018), New England Patriots (2019) and New York Jets (2019). Thomas was named to five straight Pro Bowls between 2012-2016, earning First-Team All-Pro honors in 2013 and 2014. He caught 724 passes in his career for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns. For the 2015 campaign, Thomas started all 16 games for Denver, hauling in 105 passes for 1,304 yards and six touchdowns while helping the Broncos to victory in Super Bowl 50. He was also a key member of the 2013 Broncos team that advanced to Super Bowl XLVIII, posting 92 catches for 1,430 yards on the year. Thomas played college football at Georgia Tech from 2006-2009, winning First-Team All-ACC honors in 2009.
Other first-time nominees include tight ends Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker, offensive linemen Travis Frederick and defensive backs Antoine Bethea and Earl Thomas. Additionally, there are 10 players under consideration who were finalists in 2024, including defensive backs Darren Woodson, Eric Allen and Rodney Harrison, receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, tight end Antonio Gates, defensive end Jared Allen, running back Fred Taylor and offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Jahri Evans.;
