A pair of Super Bowl heroes from the Pittsburgh Steelers of two decades ago again have advanced on the road to Canton.
Hines Ward and James Harrison on Wednesday were announced among 25 “modern-era” NFL players named as semifinalists for induction into the 2025 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ward, the Steelers’ career leader in receptions with 1,000, was MVP of Super Bowl XL. Harrison, second on the Steelers’ career sacks list, had an iconic 100-yard interception return for a touchdown just before halftime of Super Bowl XLIII. Each player won two Super Bowl rings and was on the roster of the AFC champion 2010 Steelers.
Ward, who retired after the 2011 season, has been a semifinalist nine consecutive years. Harrison is a semifinalist for a third straight year. His final game came in 2017. Harrison played parts of 14 seasons with the Steelers from 2002-17. Ward’s 14 NFL seasons all were with the Steelers and ran from 1998-2011.
Ward and Harrison join former Penn State offensive lineman Steve Wisniewski and 22 others who were pared from an initial nominee list of 167 announced earlier this fall that was then whittled down to 50. Wisniewski, who played 13 seasons for the Raiders’ organization, is in his 19th season of Hall eligibility but is a semifinalist for the first time.
The six other first-time semifinalists were players who are in their first year of eligibility (their final game was in 2019): linebacker Luke Kuechly, quarterback Eli Manning, edge rusher Terrell Suggs, safety Earl Thomas, kicker Adam Vinatieri and guard Marshal Yanda.
Coincidentally, Suggs and Yanda were standouts for the Steelers’ biggest rival, the Baltimore Ravens. Thomas also played for Baltimore.
Manning potentially could make for three consecutive years with a quarterback from the 2004 draft class getting into Canton. Philip Rivers will be eligible for the 2026 class, and Steelers great Ben Roethlisberger could go into the 2027 class.
The list of 25 “modern-era” players announced Wednesday will be pared down to 15 finalists, who will join five other candidates (three seniors, one coach, one contributor) on the final ballot. Between four and eight will earn induction. That will be announced over Super Bowl weekend in February.
