Eight Steelers Nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025

Eight former members of the Pittsburgh Steelers have been nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025, the NFL announced on Wednesday.

Kicker Gary Anderson, inside linebacker James Farrior, outside linebacker James Harrison, nose tackle Casey Hampton, fullback John Kuhn, defensive back and kick returner Allen Rossum, outside linebacker Mike Vrabel and wide receive Hines Ward are all among the list of nominees.

All eight Steelers Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees were also nominated for the Class of 2024. Three players — safety Carnell Lake, inside linebacker Hardy Nickerson, Sr. and outside linebacker Joey Porter, Sr. — were all nominated for last year’s class, but were not nominated for this coming class.

Harrison and Ward were among the 25 semifinalists last year. Ward has been a semifinalist for seven consecutive years, but has never advanced beyond that stage in the voting process. Harrison is eligible for a third time, and has been a semifinalist twice.

Anderson spent 13 seasons kicking with the Steelers from 1982-94 and is the team’s all-time leading scorer with 1,343 points. He’s the only Pittsburgh player to score more than 1,000 career points and is also the team’s leader in career field goals made (309) and points after touchdown (416). He was a four-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro member of the NFL’s 1980s and 1990s All-Decade Teams.

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Farrior inducted into the team’s Hall of Honor on Nov. 14, 2021. — Alan Saunders / Steelers Now

Drafted in the first round by the New York Jets in 1997, Farrior he played five seasons in New York before joining the Steelers in 2002. Since then, Farrior has gone down as one of the top free-agent signings in Steelers franchise history. He won two Super Bowls as the Steelers’ starting three-down inside linebacker, and was a two-time All-Pro in 2004 and 2008.

Hampton came to Pittsburgh in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft out of Texas. The big nose tackle spent 12 seasons in Black and Gold, winning Super Bowls XL and XLIII. Hampton was a five-time Pro Bowl selection and is a member of the Steelers’ All-Time Team.

Harrison is one of the team’s most legendary outside linebackers. Originally joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2002, it took him years to catch on with the squad full time and Harrison considered giving up football. But starting in 2004, he was a long-term fixture of the Pittsburgh defense that won Super Bowls XL and XLIII. Harrison had the most memorable play of the latter game, with a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown just before the half serving as one of the top plays in NFL history. Harrison was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2008, he was a four-time All-Pro and a five-time Pro Bowler.

A York, Pa., native and Shippensburg alum, Kuhn is known most for playing with the Green Bay Packers, but before that, he spent his rookie season. Kuhn plays in nine games for Pittsburgh in 2006 before a nine-year run in Green Bay, where he was a three-time Pro Bowler, a one-time All-Pro and beat the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

Rossum spent just one season in Pittsburgh in 2007 during an itinerant NFL career as one of the league’s top return men. Rossum led the NFL in punt return yards in 2003 and was elected to the Pro Bowl, representing the Atlanta Falcons. He also played for the Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers, Atlanta Falcons, San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys.

Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel in a game against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Dec. 19, 2021. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now

Vrabel, now a coach for the Cleveland Browns, is and mostly known for playing on the Super Bowl teams with the New England Patriots, but he started his career in Pittsburgh. Vrabel played four seasons from 1997 to 2000 with the group but never logged a start. He went on to a be one-time All-Pro, one-time Pro Bowl selection and three-time Super Bowl champ with the Pats. After his playing career, he got into coaching, spending the last seven seasons as the head coach of the Tennessee Titans.

Ward’s 14-year NFL career was spent carving out a role as one of the most physical players on the Steelers, even as a wide receiver. The Korean-born Ward won two Super Bowls with Pittsburgh and was the MVP of Super Bowl XL after his game-sealing touchdown reception. His impact as a blocker was so well-known that the NFL changed its rules to prevent blindside blocks downfield, which has come to be known as the Hines Ward Rule. Ward was named to four Pro Bowls, was a three-time All-Pro and is on the Steelers’ All-Time Team. He is currently serving as the wide receivers coach at Arizona State.

Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward at the Resilience Bowl on May 21, 2024. — Steelers Now/ Ed Thompson

The eight former Steelers are among 167 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025. That list will be trimmed to 50 in October, and then to 25 semifinalist laster in the fall and 15 finalists, who will be debated on at the annual meeting of the Hall of Fame meeting before the Super Bowl. Between three and five modern-era players can be enshrined each year.