129 Modern-Era nominees announced for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 

List will be cut to 25 semifinalists in November; 15 finalists to be revealed in early January 

CANTON, OHIO – Nine players in their first year of eligibility are among the list of 129 Modern-Era Nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023. 

Those making the list for consideration for the first time include running back Chris Johnson, offensive linemen Jahri Evans and Joe Thomas, defensive lineman Dwight Freeney, linebackers NaVorro Bowman and James Harrison, defensive backs Kam Chancellor and Darrelle Revis and punter Shane Lechler.  

The roster of nominees consists of 67 offensive players, 50 defensive players and 12 special teams players. The list of Modern-Era Nominees will be reduced to 25 Semifinalists in November and, from there, to 15 Finalists whose names will be announced in early January. 
 

Modern-Era nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 

*Finalist in 2022. Underline indicates first year of eligibility. (Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2017 is eligible for the first time in 2023.) 

QUARTERBACKS (6): Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Jeff Garcia, Dave Krieg, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair. 

RUNNING BACKS (17): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Eddie George, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Vonta Leach (FB), Jamal Lewis, Lorenzo Neal (FB), Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters, Brian Westbrook. 

WIDE RECEIVERS (20): Anquan Boldin, Troy Brown (also PR/KR), Donald Driver, Henry Ellard (also PR), Irving Fryar, *Devin Hester (also PR/KR), *Torry Holt, Joe Horn, Chad Johnson, *Andre Johnson, Derrick Mason, Muhsin Muhammad, Andre Rison, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, *Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White. 

TIGHT ENDS (3): Dallas Clark, Ben Coates, Wesley Walls. 

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (21): *Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Jahri Evans (G),  D’Brickashaw Ferguson (T), Kevin Glover (C/G), Jordan Gross (T), Olin Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Nate Newton (G/T), Jeff Saturday (C), Mark Schlereth (G/C), Chris Snee (G), Joe Thomas (T), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G). 

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (14): John Abraham (DE, also LB), *Jared Allen (DE), Dwight Freeney (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Casey Hampton (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Leslie O’Neal (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Clyde Simmons (DE/DT), Justin Smith (DE), Neil Smith (DE), Justin Tuck (DE), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT/DE). 

LINEBACKERS (17): Jessie Armstead, Cornelius Bennett, NaVorro Bowman, Lance Briggs, Chad Brown, Tedy Bruschi, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, Seth Joyner, Willie McGinest (also DE), Takeo Spikes, Pat Swilling (also DE), *Zach Thomas, *DeMarcus Ware, *Patrick Willis, Al Wilson. 

DEFENSIVE BACKS (19): Eric Allen (CB), *Ronde Barber (CB/S), Dre’ Bly (CB), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (S), Antonio Cromartie (CB), Merton Hanks (S), Rodney Harrison (S), Albert Lewis (CB), Terry McDaniel (CB), Tim McDonald (S), Darrelle Revis (CB), Allen Rossum (CB), Asante Samuel (CB), Bob Sanders (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), Darren Woodson (S). 

PUNTERS/KICKERS (10): Gary Anderson (K), Jason Elam (K), Jeff Feagles (P), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay, (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Ryan Longwell (K), Pat McAfee (P), Matt Turk (P). 

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

Nineteen Finalists will be presented to the full 49-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee during its annual meeting to choose the Class of 2023. Those candidates will consist of 15 Modern-Era Players Finalists and the recently named Seniors Finalists Joe Klecko, Chuck Howley and Ken Riley and Coach/Contributor Finalist Don Coryell. 

The Selection Committee will meet early next year (on a date to be determined) in advance of Super Bowl LVII. While there is no set number for any class of enshrinees, the selection process bylaws provide that between four and nine new members will be selected.   

The Seniors Finalists and Coach/Contributor Finalist are voted “yes” or “no” for election at the annual selection meeting and must receive at least 80% support from the Committee to join the Class of 2023. 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% positive vote as the Seniors and Coach/Contributor to earn election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 

This year’s reduction voting and the selection meeting ballots will be processed via an online voting platform developed specifically for the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the firm EY. 

EY also oversaw the election process for the Centennial Class of 2020, Class of 2021 and Class of 2022. 

The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2023 will be enshrined in August 2023. For the most up to date information on the annual Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls, visit https://www.profootballhof.com/enshrinement/.    
 

Hall of Fame Fan Vote presented by Ford 

The annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan Vote presented by Ford launched today. Fans can start voting as many times as they wish at https://www.profootballhof.com/fanvote to predict the five Modern-Era Players who will be elected to the Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023. (This fan vote is for entertainment purposes only and does not factor into the overall results for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)  

Fans who vote automatically become eligible for sweepstakes prizes, including a Grand Prize trip for two (2) to the 2023 Enshrinement Week Powered by Johnson Controls in Canton. 

This marks the 13th consecutive 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.