NFL's Hall of Fame inductees 2021: Who made the Pro Football Hall of Fame class this year?

Tom Gatto

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NFL's Hall of Fame inductees 2021: Who made the Pro Football Hall of Fame class this year? image

There is much more to Super Bowl weekend than just the game. It's also a period of looking back at the season and honoring pro football's past.  

That nod to the past is made through the announcement of a new class of Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. The 2021 group will be the traditional size (eight inductees total); last year, the HOF greatly expanded the list of enshrinees in conjunction with the NFL's centennial celebration.

One member of the '21 class — the most obvious inductee — was unofficially announced about a week early. Hall of Fame voters agreed on Peyton Manning, who will enter Canton in his first year on the ballot.  

Sporting News tracked the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame induction announcement. Below is a full list of the honorees:

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Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees 2021

Modern-era players (in order of announcement)

  • Charles Woodson, CB/S, 1998-2015 
  • Calvin Johnson, 2017-15
  • Alan Faneca, G, 1998-2010
  • John Lynch, S, 1993-2007
  • Peyton Manning, QB, 1998-2015

Coaches

  • Tom Flores, Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders and Seattle Seahawks

Contributors (non-coach, non-player)

  • Bill Nunn, Steelers scout and executive, 1970-2014 

Seniors (last played more than 25 years ago)

  • Drew Pearson, WR, Cowboys, 1973-83

Pro Football Hall of Fame finalists

Modern-era players

  • Jared Allen, DE, 2004-15
  • Ronde Barber, CB/S, 1997-2012
  • Tony Boselli, OT, 1995-2002
  • LeRoy Butler, S, 1990-2001
  • Alan Faneca, G, 1998-2010
  • Torry Holt, WR, 1999-2009
  • Calvin Johnson, WR, 2007-15
  • John Lynch, S, 1993-2007
  • Peyton Manning, QB, 1998-2015
  • Clay Matthews Jr., LB, 1978-96
  • Sam Mills, LB, 1986-97
  • Richard Seymour, DL, 2001-12
  • Zach Thomas, LB, 1996-2008
  • Reggie Wayne, WR, 2001-14
  • Charles Woodson, CB/S, 1998-2015

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.