2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame: Meet the new members

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  • Jeff Legwold6. February 2025, 23:01 one

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      Jeff Legwold is a senior author who covers the Denver Broncos and NFL on ESPN. Jeff has covered broncos for more than 20 years and participated in ESPN in 2013. He also helps with NFL draft coverage, including his annual Top 100 views. Jeff has been a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Selectors since 1999. He is also in Hall’s Seniors Committee and was in Hall’s Blue Ribbon Panel, who chose Hall’s Centennial Class. Jeff also covered Steelers, Bills and Oilers/Titans in previous stops before ESPN.

For a few of the players whose patience has been tested in the last decade or longer, the wait is over.

Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the class 2025 on Thursday night as part of the NFL Honours Show in New Orleans.

Cornerback Eric Allen was in his 19th year of eligibility and Jared Allen in his fifth year with eligibility appointed to the hall’s class ’25 along with the tight end Antonio Gates and Brede Receives Sterling Sharpe. Sharpe, whose career was cut off by an innate throat state, the seniors -the finalist was chosen for closure.

This year’s class was chosen by Hall’s Board of Selectors at a virtual meeting. The new Hall of Famers will be enshrined in August in Canton, Ohio.

Here is a closer look at class 2025:

Eric Allen, Cornerback

Philadelphia Eagles, 1988-1994; New Orleans Saints, 1995-97; Oakland Raiders, 1998-2001

Allen was another round of election of Eagles in 1988 and was a study in consistent expertise and durability. He approached the 20-year-old deadline as a candidate for modern times after playing his last match in 2001. Allen played at least 15 games in 13 of his 14 seasons and had a six-pressure season in 2000 at 35 years old . He turned four of his six captures to touchdowns in 1993, one of his six Pro Bowl seasons.

Why was he chosen: Allen’s 54 Career Catch is 21. Allen captured Hall of Famers John Elway, Steve Young, Jim Kelly, Troy Aikman and Brett Favre. He led the NFL in Interception Return Yards in 1993, when he had the four touchdown returns and had a three-touchdown season in 2000.

He had at least five interceptions for six seasons, and his 34 interceptions like an Eagles Cornerback are tied to the franchise post with Bill Bradley and Hall of Famer Brian Dawkins. Allen was a six-time choice of Pro Bowl and was selected for UPI’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1993. Allen is also the only player in the Lig History with two seasons with at least three interception returns for touchdowns.

Signature moment: For many, it was Allen’s 94-Yard pick-Six against Boomer Esiason and the New York Jets in 1993. Eagles Quarterback Randall Cunningham had suffered a broken leg earlier in the game, and Allen’s eavesdropping was the game winner. After the play, Allen ran to Cunningham, who was on crutches on the sidelines and handed the quarterback the ball.

CITERBLE: “I said to myself a long time ago, ‘If you can go through a complete season and can’t get more than two eaves Standards had to be met for me to play. Allen to the lecture on Fame Network about why he chose to retire after the 2001 season

Jared allen, defensive end

Kansas City Chiefs, 2004-2007; Minnesota Vikings, 2008-2013; Chicago Bears, 2014-2015; Carolina Panthers, 2015

Allen, a fourth round election of Chiefs in the 2004 draft, was a high-energy, high-intensity player. He was one of the most sought after players for any defensive coordinator-a down-to-down, game-to-game, season-to-season influence Pass Rusher. Allen’s 136 career bag ranks 12. All the time since sacks became an official statistic in 1982. Of the 11 players ahead of him, 10 are in the Hall of Fame, and Terrell Suggs, who is eighth, was a finalist this year.

Why was he chosen: Allen’s four career afeties are a league record, and he routinely created revenue for opponents. He forced 32 fumbles, deflected 58 passes, captured six passes and recovered 19 fumbles in his career. His 22 sacks in 2011 are tied to the fourth-best all the time in a single season. He also had eight seasons with at least 10 sacks and led the league twice in the category (2007 and 2011).

These results followed a rocky off-the-Field start to his career, which included two DUI arrangements and a suspension of violating the league’s drug/alcohol policy. He became a five-time pro bowl and four-time all pro committee over 12 seasons and worked actively with charities off the field.

Signature moment: Allen would clarify sacks by pretending to rope a calf, a tribute to his upbringing on a horse water. He would even throw his hands up at the end as calf stropers do to stop the clock in rodeo competitions.

CITERBLE: “You go through life and there’s a maturation process. I made some mistakes early in my career and you learn from them and you grow from them. Minnesota was a place that helped me grow as a man. .. . Allen when he retired, at his time with the Vikings

Antonio Gates, tight end

San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, 2003-2018

Gates, who were strictly playing basketball in Kent State and helping the golden flashes to an elite eight performance in 2002, was signed by chargers as an unused free agent in 2003. He completed his NFL career with 955 receptions, the fourth most for a tight end in the NFL history and 116 receiving touchdowns, mostly for a tight end. Gates and Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez are the only tight ends in the league story with more than 100 career touchdown catches.

Why was he chosen: Gates was an eight-time pro bowl election and six-time first or second team all-pro. He had 21 multi-touchdown games and eight seasons with at least eight touchdown receptions. He has Chargers -Franchise -posts for receipts and receipt of yards (11,841). The chargers won four AFC West titles in Gates’ career, and his 89 Touchdowns on the throw from Philip Rivers was an NFL record for a quarterback receiver duo at the time of his retirement (it ranks third now).

Signature moment: He had many over his career-enhand grip, tilted passports, he turned into great plays, boxouts in the final zone against overpowered defensive backs-but his 7-yard touchdown reception on September 17, 2017, gave Gates 112 in his career and broke Gonzalez’s record For career touchdown -catches at a tight end.

CITERBLE: “He was so hard to cover that we had a ‘gates -rule’ in the QB room. We would talk through the readings and the pieces, and they all had a ‘gates -rule.’ It meant largely if he is one-on-one, throwing it there. Rivers

Sterling Sharp, wide receiver

Green Bay Packers, 1988-1994

Sharpe’s career was truncated by a congenital throat, but only Jerry Rice caught several passports and had several touchdown receptions in the seven-season span that Sharpe played. Although his career was shortened by health concerns, Sharpe did not miss a game in regular season-112 in total. He was a five-time choice of Pro Bowl and three-time all-pro selection.

Why was he chosen: Sharpe, whose brother Shannon is a Hall of Famer, led the league in receptions for three seasons, to receive yards once and receive touchdowns twice. His league-leading 18, who receives touchdowns in his last season, is still tied to the third highest single season in total in the NFL story. Sharpes 108 receptions in 1993 were a record in a single season at the time, and he broke his own record the following season with 112.

Signature moment: Sharpe only got the game in the playoffs once in his career in 1993, Brett Favre’s second year as Green Bay’s starting quarterback. But Sharpe made the most of it with 100-Yard games in both Packers’ playoff games. In the Wild-Card victory over Detroit, he became the ninth player in the league story to have three touchdown receptions in an end game.

CITERBLE: “I am the only pro-football player who is in the Hall of Fame and I am the second best player in my own family. ”- Shannon Sharpe in his Hall of Fame -Accept -tale