Several Colts legends of years past were announced among the 167 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 on Wednesday.
Among the 16 first-year eligible nominees is kicker Adam Vinatieri, who played for the Colts from 2006-2019 and is regarded as one of the best kickers – if not the best kicker – in NFL history. Vinatieri is the NFL's all-time leading scorer (2,673 points) and was a three-time first-team AP All-Pro over his 24-year career. Vinatieri was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2000s first team and the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
Vinatieri will look to join Jan Stenerud as the only kickers in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Among the returning players to the ballot hoping to earn a gold jacket are defensive end Robert Mathis and wide receiver Reggie Wayne.
Mathis, the NFL's all-time strip-sack king, has made it to the semifinal round of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection process in each of this three years of eligibility. He's the NFL's all-time leader in forced fumbles (52) and strip-sacks (47), and amassed a Colts record 123 sacks over his 14-year career, which was spent entirely in Indianapolis. Mathis was a five-time Pro Bowler (2008-2010, 2012-2013) and earned first-team AP All-Pro honors in 2013, when he led the NFL with 19 1/2 sacks and 10 forced fumbles.
Mathis will hope to join in Canton his Bring The Heat Boulevard partner Dwight Freeney, who was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August.
Wayne has been named a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist in each of his five years of eligibility. There's no questioning Wayne's Canton-worthy credentials: He spent his entire career with the Colts (2001-2014) and totaled 14,345 yards and 82 touchdowns in the regular season. But his impact on games didn't stop in the regular season.
Wayne, who's in his third year as the Colts' wide receivers coach, also is among the most productive wide receivers in NFL postseason history with 93 receptions (second all-time) and 1,243 yards (fourth).
Among the other former Colts to be nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025: Center Jeff Saturday, safety Antoine Bethea (first nomination), safety Bob Sanders, punter Pat McAfee and kicker Mike Vanderjagt.
A screening committee will reduce the list of nominees to 50 in mid-October. From there, the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee will announce 25 semifinalists later this fall; again later this year, 15 finalists will be announced. Those 15 finalists will be considered by the selection committee ahead of Super Bowl LVIX, with three, four or five modern-era players earning induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.
