The Pro Football Hall of Fame is set to announce Mike Holmgren, Sterling Sharpe, Maxie Baughan, Jim Tyrer and Ralph Hay as finalists for the Class of 2025.
Holmgren is this year’s coaching candidate. He spent seven years as coach of the Packers and 10 years as coach of the Seahawks, winning a Super Bowl in Green Bay and getting to two more Super Bowls, once with Green Bay and once with Seattle.
Sharpe is one of three seniors candidates. He played for Holmgren as a receiver on the Packers and led the NFL in catches three times, in receiving touchdowns twice and in receiving yards once. He was one of the best receivers in football throughout his career, a career that was cut short after seven seasons by a neck injury in 1994. If he is chosen he could be one of two players to join their brothers in the Hall of Fame in 2025; Sharpe’s brother Shannon Sharpe is in the Hall of Fame and Eli Manning is expected to join Peyton Manning in the Hall in 2025.
Baughan, who died last year, is another seniors candidate. He was a linebacker who played 15 seasons for three teams and was a nine-time Pro Bowler.
Tyrer is the third seniors candidate. He was an offensive tackle who played most of his career for the Chiefs and was an eight-time AFL All-Star and then a two-time Pro Bowler after the AFL-NFL merger. Tyrer killed his wife and then himself in 1980, and some Hall of Fame voters may opt against selecting him because of that.
Hay owned the Canton Bulldogs from 1918 to 1922 and is widely crediting for organizing the first meeting of professional football teams that eventually led to the formation of the National Football League.
Those five finalists will be considered alongside 15 modern-era players for the Class of 2025, which will be voted on in January and inducted in August.
