The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2013 Finalists were announced this morning on NFL AM on NFL Network.
The 15 modern era finalists included four first time eligible finalists featuring Tampa Bay Buccaneers great Warren Sapp, Giants legend and current co-host of “Live with Kelly and Michael” Michael Strahan.
Offensive Linemen Larry Allen of the Dallas Cowboys and Jonathan Ogden of the Baltimore Ravens round out the first time finalists.
For the second year in a row the Pittsburgh Steelers are well represented amongst the finalists. Running back Jerome Bettis is a finalist for a third time and linebacker Kevin Greene gets into the finals for his second straight year. Steelers Center Dermontti Dawson and Senior nominee Jack Butler were both inducted into the 2012 Hall of Fame class.
The largest controversy lies within the wide receivers group. Minnesota Vikings Cris Carter, Oakland Raiders Tim Brown, and Buffalo Bills Andre Reed are all finalists once again.
This is the seventh time Reed has been a finalist, the sixth time for Carter, and the fourth time for Brown. Considering no wide receivers were enshrined last year and the current backlog, it is a virtual lock that at least one amongst the wide receiver finalists will be enshrined in 2013.
Former Dallas Cowboy and San Francisco 49er Charles Haley is now a finalist for the fourth time. Haley is distinguished as the only player in NFL history to play for five winning Super Bowl teams. He was the NFC defensive player of the year twice in 1990 and 1994.
Kansas City Chiefs guard Will Shields hopes to follow in the footsteps of his teammate Willie Roaf who was inducted in the Hall of Fame last year. This is the second straight year Shields has been a finalist.
It will be hard to deny the Hall again for Shields who was a twelve time pro bowler and a member of the NFL’s All-Decade team of the 2000s.
The lone defensive back finalist is Aeneas Williams formerly of the Phoenix Cardinals and St. Louis Rams. The Eight-Time Pro Bowler is a finalist for the second straight year.
Rounding out the list of modern era finalists include former Giants, Patriots, Jets, and Cowboys head coach Bill Parcells, San Francisco 49ers owner and NFL contributor Eddie Debartolo Jr. and the late Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell.
Joining the fifteen Modern Era Finalists are senior nominees Dave Robinson of the Green Bay Packers and Curley Culp of the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame limits each class to a maximum of five modern era finalists. The class can include as much as seven players as long as two of them include the senior nominees.
The Class of 2013 will be voted on Saturday Feb 2, 2013 in New Orleans, LA the day before the Super Bowl. In order to be elected a player must receive a minimum of 80 percent of the selection committee’s vote.
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