Pro Football Hall of Fame Voting rules: Why the highest NFL teaching is now more exclusive

New Orleans – Three years have passed since Deion Sanders, probably the largest cornerback in NFL history, complained loudly about the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which lowered the bar.

Were there too many border candidates who made it through the process and watered down what it meant to earn the coveted golden jacket and the bronze bust in the canton? Sanders clearly thought. The hall agreed and implemented stricter rules in August 2024 to “make sure that membership remains in the Hall of Fame Elite.”

The fans will see the results of the new rules for the first time when the hall reveals its class 2025 on Thursday evening at the NFL Honors Show in New Orleans, location of Super Bowl Lix. As one of the 49 selectors, I took part in the vote, but I do not know the results.

Here is a primer what you can know and expect to go to the announcement:

1. Sanders had one point: The hall has indeed anchored a higher rate recently.

The hall welcomed 179 new members from 2000 to 2004, compared to 118 over the previous 25 years (1975-99). This included a special 20-member NFL hundred year class in 2020.

The selection committee has anchored the maximum five candidates of the modern era per year. The average was 4.1 a year over the previous period of 40 years.

The swell in numbers also reflects the decision of the Hall to separate the coaches and participants from the modern era candidates from 2015. The committee has anchored 17 coaches and participants in the nine years since the classes with five people in the nine years.

As a result, the hall has anchor an average of 7.8 candidates a year since 2015 without counting the 20-member hundredth year class.

“With the revisions, the classes are statistically rather five or six members,” said the hall in a press release in which changes to the process were announced.

2. Sanders had another point: Less caught candidates were more likely to have an anchoring, at least according to a measure.

Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Randall McDaniel and Derrick Thomas were the players from the modern era in 2009. Jerry Rice, Emmitt, Smith, John Randle, Russ Grimm and Rickey Jackson followed in 2010.

These super elite classes have been on average with Hall of Fame Monitor from Pro Football Reference 1-2 since 1980. who had debuted since 1955).

In 1993 Walter Payton, Larry Little and Dan Fouts were introduced in the third -class class since 1980. Barry Sanders and John Elway headed the four -time class in 2004 (Carl Eller was also part of it). The fifth grade in this measure contained Ray Lewis, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens, Brian Urlacher and Brian Dawkins (2018). The 2000 class was next with Ronnie Lott, Joe Montana and Howie Long.

In the other extreme lower.

The average class quality (using a five-year rolling average of the Hall of Fame Monitor) reached its peak in 2011 and has remained relatively constant until the past three years. In 2024 it fell to the lowest level since 2003.

Although there is no comprehensive metric for the determination of the Hallity if each member of a class has missed the cut in a strong year, the alarms sound. Sanders did not need help from Profoto Football Reference to feel what these numbers suggest.

Have Sanders and the hall overreact a single outlier class? Was it time to reverse the trend towards larger classes? The hall decided Naishith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, although the NFL used many other players).

3. So the class 2025 compares.

The 15 finalists of the modern era this year are Cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen, Tackle Willie Anderson, Wache Jahri Evans, close end-end-end-antonio-gates, recipient Tarry Holt, Linebacker Luke Kuechly, quarterback Eli Manning, recipient Steve Smith, outside of LineBacker Terrell Terrell Terrell Suggs, Running Fred Taylor, Kicker Adam Vinatieri, recipient Reggie Wayne, Security Darren Woodson and Guard Marschall Yanda.

Vinatieri and Manning are two of the more interesting candidates this year. Both were delivered in the clutch during super bowls. Both also enjoyed long careers. But Vinatieri is a kicker who competes against every Down player, while Manning was probably never a top five player in his position.

Both are higher in the Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame Monitor than some others in their positions that are already anchored.

The following table ranks these finalists based on their Hall of Fame Monitor results (Logos reflect the teams with which most games have played).

In general, a number of points predicts around 100 that anchoring. However, dozens of Hall of Famers have points in the range of 40-80, including decorated quarterbacks such as Joe Namath (70.0), Troy Aikman (64.3) and Jim Kelly (59.1).

If the five finalists were anchored with the highest Hall of Fame Monitor scores this year, the 2025 class would be 111.2, which would rank among the 45 classes since 1980. For the first time in almost two decades, it could not be five in the modern era candidates.

((John Bradford / The athlete)

4. No less than three and no more than five finalists of the modern era are anchored this year. The chances for a five -member class are reduced according to new rules.

In recent years, the selection committee, which usually includes 50 voters, has chosen five finalists from the 15th after this reduction was carried out, the remaining five 80 percent “yes” votes from the committee, each needed, each required, To win to win to win to win to win to win. Under this setup, the last five have won anchoring every time in the past 17 years.

According to new rules, the last 15 are reduced to seven. At that time, each voter chooses five of the seven. Candidates who receive 80 percent of the votes win anchors.

The new mathematics enables none of the last seven, the 80 percent limit (40 out of 49 votes). If fewer than three meet this percentage, as in the following first hypothetical scenario, the three will win with most votes (we will describe the procedures for the break -in in detail separately).

*Player D anchored to achieve at least three selections from today

So that the maximum five candidates from the modern era have to be selected, the other two finalists could not master more than 45 combined votes (or 50 in a typical year with 50 voters). Such a scenario could look like this.

5. The five finalists for senior/coach/participants compete against each other, not against the finalists of the modern era.

The voters are not forced to choose between the finalists of the modern era listed above and the following finalists for senior/coach/participants: Seniors Linebacker Maxie BauGhan, recipient Sterling Sharpe and offensive-tackle Jim Tyrer, all of whom are retired for at least 25 years are. Former Green Bay and Seattle coach Mike Holmgren; And former NFL co-founder Ralph Hay, the participant.

Bill Belichick will be considered in the trainers’ category next year if he does not return to the NFL by then. This increases the possibility that Belichick, as a coaching candidate, priority with the Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft, who could appear in the category of participants to fight voices.

6. Finalists are anchored between one and three senior/coach. Your chances of anchoring will be reduced according to new rules.

In the past few years, finalists in these categories have received anchoring if a permit of 80 percent received from the committee. Their chances of anchoring were high because the voters did not have to vote for these candidates at another. The voters could simply choose “yes” without consequence, essentially rubber -clamping candidates presented by the various subcommittees.

According to new rules, voters have to select three out of five candidates from these categories. Only those who receive 80 percent of the votes will be reduced. If no finalist hits this bar, the individual finalist with the most votes will be reduced.

As a hypothetical (see below), if a candidate 42 out of 49 votes (86 percent) and another 37 out of 49 votes (76 percent), only the first candidate would win, and only 68 votes remain for the other three. Candidates.

So that the maximum three candidates are to be selected from this category, the other two candidates were unable to commit more than 27 combined votes (or 30 in a typical year with 50 voters).

7. The eighth breaking process would prefer Marschall Yanda to all other 2025 candidates, but don’t worry – it won’t be.

What happens if fewer than three finalists of the modern era and/or zero senior/coach/participating finalists receive 80 percent of the vote? The hall would then determine candidates based on the following eight criteria in this order:

• Most votes for the election (final ballot), including the coordination for every senior, coach or participating candidates;

• Most votes in the vote to reduce the finalists from 10 to seven players in the modern era;

• Most votes in the vote to reduce the finalists from 15 to 10 players in the modern era;

• Most votes to reduce semi -finalists from 25 to 15 players from the modern era;

• Most of the voices that reduce the final list to 25 semi -finalists of the modern era;

• mostly as a finalist;

• mostly on the preliminary list;

• Alphabetical surname (in even years) or vice older (odd years) changing year.

(Photos by Adam Vinatieri, left and Eli Manning: Justin Berl, Steven Ryan / Getty Images)