Colts greats Adam Vinatieri and Reggie Wayne were not among the three Modern-Era players elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, which was unveiled Thursday night.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee can select up to five Modern Era players to be inducted per year; there is no rule saying the committee has to select five per year.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Modern Era inductees are defensive end Jared Allen, cornerback Eric Allen and tight end Antonio Gates. Wide receiver Sterling Sharpe will also be enshrined in Canton this summer, though he was not elected as a Modern Era player.
The total of four Hall of Famers in the Class of 2025 is the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee's smallest group of inductees since 2005.
Vinatieri, widely regarded as the greatest kicker in NFL history, will have to wait at least another year before joining Jan Stenerud and Morten Anderson as the only pure placekickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Neither Stenerud (Class of 1991) nor Andersen (Class of 2017) were inducted on their respective first ballots.
Vinatieri, who played for the New England Patriots (1996-2005) and Colts (2006-2019), is the NFL's all-time leader in field goal attempts (715), field goals made (599) and points scored (2,763). He was a three-time AP All Pro and Pro Bowler (2002, 2004, 2014) whose ability to hit clutch kicks on the NFL's biggest stages made him a four-time Super Bowl champion. Vinatieri was also named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000s first team and the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
Wayne, in his sixth year as a finalist and despite being one of the most productive wide receivers in NFL history, was not chosen for enshrinement in Canton.
Wayne is one of nine players in NFL history with at least 1,000 receptions, 14,000 yards and 80 touchdowns; six of those players (Tim Brown, Isaac Bruce, Tony Gonzalez, Marvin Harrison, Terrell Owens, Jerry Rice) are Pro Football Hall of Famers, while one is not yet eligible (Larry Fitzgerald) and two (Wayne, Steve Smith Sr.) were finalists this year.
That's just what Wayne did in the regular season, though. He also ranks top 10 in NFL postseason history in receptions (93, sixth), receiving yards (1,254, seventh), receiving first downs (67, fourth) and receiving touchdowns (9, T-10th).
