CANTON, Ohio — Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterbacks Ken Anderson and Boomer Esiason are among the nearly 200 players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 in the Seniors category, the Hall of Fame announced on Tuesday.
The roster of 183 nominees consists of 100 offensive players, 77 defensive players and six special teamers. The Seniors Screening Committee, a new entity created this year to add additional input around the overall selection process, will reduce the list to 50 players (plus ties, if any, for the 50th spot) over the next several weeks.
The Seniors category includes former players who last could have appeared in a professional football game in the 1999 season.
Former Bengals wide receiver Isaac Curtis and former Cincinnati defensive back Lemar Parrish are among the nominees with Bengals connections, too.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025 will be enshrined next August.
Once the Seniors Screening Committee has completed its work, the separate Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee will make additional reductions in several increments. In late fall, the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee will select three Seniors as Finalists for possible election with the Class of 2025 presented by Visual Edge IT.
SENIOR PLAYER NOMINEES
FOR THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025
(Players must have last played at least 25 full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination in this category. Qualifications include five years of service and at least one recognized postseason honor.)
QUARTERBACKS (16): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Boomer Esiason, Roman Gabriel, James “Shack” Harris, Bobby Hebert, Jeff Hostetler, Ron Jaworski, Jack Kemp, Dave Krieg, Daryle Lamonica, Don Meredith, Jim Plunkett, Phil Simms, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams.
RUNNING BACKS (25): Alan Ameche, Ottis Anderson, Jon Arnett, Larry Brown, Timmy Brown, Earnest Byner, Roger Craig, John David Crow, Clem Daniels, Hewritt Dixon, Chuck Foreman, Willie Galimore, Pat Harder, Marv Hubbard, Cecil Isbell, Daryl Johnston, Verne Lewellen, Christian Okoye, Bill Osmanski, Glenn Presnell, Mark van Eeghen, Herschel Walker, Byron “Whizzer” White, Sammy Winder, Paul "Tank” Younger.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS (31): Mark Bavaro, Gino Cappelletti, Raymond Chester, Todd Christensen, Mark Clayton, Gary Collins, Isaac Curtis, Carroll Dale, Lavvie Dilweg, Boyd Dowler, Henry Ellard, Jimmy Giles, Billie Howton, Harold Jackson, Billy "White Shoes” Johnson, Brent Jones, Homer Jones, Ken Kavanaugh, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Mike Quick, Bob Scarpitto, Sterling Sharpe, Del Shofner, Pat Studstill, John Taylor, Lionel Taylor, Otis Taylor, Rick Upchurch, Bobby Walston, Billy Wilson.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (28): Harris Barton, Dick Barwegan, Ed Budde, Randy Cross, Ray Donaldson, Ox Emerson, Bill Fralic, Gale Gillingham, Kevin Glover, Charles "Buckets” Goldenberg, Wayne Hawkins, Jay Hilgenberg, Chris Hinton, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, George Kunz, Don Mosebar, Ralph Neely, Nate Newton, John Niland, Dick Schafrath, Luis Sharpe, Walt Sweeney, Fuzzy Thurston, Jim Tyrer, Ed White, Al Wistert.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (27): Lyle Alzado, George Andrie, Al “Bubba” Baker, Roger Brown, Ray Childress, Ben Davidson, Mark Gastineau, Bill Glass, L.C. Greenwood, Rosey Grier, Rich Jackson, Ed "Too Tall” Jones, Sean Jones, Tom Keating, Eugene "Big Daddy” Lipscomb, Jim Marshall, Leonard Marshall, Harvey Martin, Leslie O’Neal, Michael Dean Perry, Lou Rymkus, Tom Sestak, Otis Sistrunk, Fred Smerlas, Bubba Smith, Bill Stanfill, Greg Townsend.
LINEBACKERS (22): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Bill Bergy, Dan Conners, Mike Curtis, Joe Fortunato, Larry Grantham, Tom Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, Lee Roy Jordan, Seth Joyner, Wilber Marshall, Rod Martin, Clay Matthews Jr., Karl Mecklenberg, Matt Millen, Tommy Nobis, Jack “Hacksaw” Reynolds, Andy Russell, Pat Swilling, Darryl Talley, Phil Villapiano.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (28): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Joey Browner, Deron Cherry, Nolan Cromwell, Thom Darden, Don Doll, Pat Fischer, Dave Grayson, Cornell Green, Merton Hanks, Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Terry McDaniel, Tim McDonald, Eddie Meador, Jim Norton, Lemar Parrish, Jimmy Patton, Jake Scott, Dennis Smith, Jack Tatum, Roosevelt Taylor, Mike Wagner, Everson Walls, Dave Whitsell, Fred Williamson, Louis Wright.
PUNTERS/KICKERS (4): Jim Bakken, Norm Johnson, Sean Lanndeta, Nick Lowery
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Mel Gray, Steve Tasker.
This year’s reduction voting will be processed via an online voting platform developed specifically for the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the firm Ernst & Young, LLC. EY has overseen the election process since the Centennial Class of 2020.
