Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning among semi-finalists for 2025 Hall of Fame class

Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, productive tight end Antonio Gates and dominant pass rusher Jared Allen are among the 25 modern inductees into the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The Hall announced the semifinalists on Wednesday after the selection committee narrowed down a list of 50 nominees drawn up by a newly created screening committee. The list includes six players who were eligible in their first year and 10 players who were finalists last year.

The full selection committee will then narrow the list of candidates down to 15 finalists, which will be voted on at the annual meeting before the Super Bowl that will produce the new class. Players must receive 80% of the votes to enter the hall, with up to five players able to enter as Modern Era candidates. Voting will also take place for three senior candidates, a contributor and a coach, with between one and three people from that group entering the room.

Leading the group of prospects in their first year of eligibility were Manning, former Defensive Players of the Year Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs; postseason kicking hero Adam Vinatieri; three-time Pro Bowl safety Earl Thomas; and two-time All-Pro guard Marshal Yanda.

Gates and Allen headline last year’s group of returning finalists, along with curators Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne; offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Jahri Evans; defensive backs Darren Woodson, Eric Allen and Rodney Harrison; and running back Fred Taylor also advanced.

The returning semifinalists are curators Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith and Hines Ward; defensive lineman Robert Mathis and Vince Wilfork; linebacker James Harrison; and running back Ricky Watters.

Offensive lineman Richmond Webb, who retired after the 2002 season, reached the semifinals for the first time. Guard Steve Wisniewski is a semifinalist for the second time after reaching the podium in voting for the Class of 2014.

Manning will look to follow his brother Peyton into the Hall after a standout career with the New York Giants. Manning was selected first overall in the 2004 draft and spent his entire career in New York. He led the Giants to an upset victory over the undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl following the 2007 season, throwing a game-winning TD pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute. Four years later, he led another late TD drive to upset Tom Brady and the Patriots. Manning is one of 13 QBs to win multiple Super Bowls, with eight of the nine eligible to be inducted into the Hall. Only Jim Plunkett is left out, along with more recent players like Brady, Ben Roethlisberger and Patrick Mahomes, who are ineligible.

The thing about Manning is that he was often unspectacular in the regular season. He was a four-time Pro Bowler, but never made an All-Pro or led the league in a major statistical category in a season. He ended his career with 57,023 yards passing and 366 TDs, 244 interceptions and an everyday passer rating of 84.1.

His best moments instead came in those two postseason runs. Manning joined Brady (five), Mahomes (three), Joe Montana (three), Bart Starr (two) and Terry Bradshaw (two) as the only multiple winners of the Super Bowl MVP awards.

Gates only played basketball in college before becoming one of the NFL’s best players after being drafted by the Chargers. He didn’t become an All-Pro until his sophomore season in 2004. He was an All-Pro again the next two seasons and went on to have a 16-year career with the team. Gates finished with 955 catches for 11,841 yards and an NFL record for tight ends with 116 touchdown receptions.

Allen was a four-time All-Pro who finished his career with 136 sacks, including a league-leading 22 in 2011 for Minnesota. Kuechly and Suggs were among the best defensive players of their era, with Kuechly selected as the top defensive player in 2013 and Suggs in 2011.

Kuechly’s career was short but impressive. Carolina’s first-round pick in 2012 was an All-Pro five times in his eight-year career with seven Pro Bowl nods and a Defensive Rookie of the Year award. During his eight-year career, Kuechly led all linebackers in the NFL in tackles (1,090), takeaways (26), interceptions (18) and passes defensed (66).

Suggs was one of the best pass rushers in the league during his 17-year career, with his 139 sacks ranking eighth since they became an official statistic in 1982. Suggs had double-digit sacks in seven in his 16 seasons with Baltimore. including 14 in 2011, when he was selected as the league’s top defensive player and led the NFL with seven forced fumbles.

Vinatieri was one of the most compelling kickers in NFL history, kicking game-winning field goals in the first two Super Bowl titles during New England’s dynasty. He helped spark the run with one of the game’s biggest kicks: a 45-yarder in the snow to force overtime in the “Tuck Rule” game against the Raiders in the 2001 divisional round. made the game-winning kick in OT to win that game and then hit a 48-yarder on the final play of a 20-17 Super Bowl victory against the Rams.

Vinatieri is the NFL’s career leader in points (2,673) and made field goals (599) during a 24-year career with New England and Indianapolis. He also leads all players with 56 field goals and 238 points in the postseason.