Several former Colts players are among the 128 nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026, which was announced this week.
The list is headlined by Class of 2025 finalists Reggie Wayne and Adam Vinatieri; Wayne has been a finalist in all six of his previous years of eligibility, while Vinatieri – despite being considered the best kicker in NFL history – did not become the first kicker elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
Wayne and Vinatieri are joined this year by longtime Colts defensive end Robert Mathis, who's been a Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalist in each of his four years of eligibility. Former Colts center Jeff Saturday is also a returning nominee this year.
Among the newcomers eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 are quarterback Philip Rivers, who finished his career with the Colts in 2020, and running back Frank Gore, who rushed for 2,953 yards for the Colts from 2015-2017.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame will whittle its list of nominees down to a group of 25 semifinalists sometime later this fall, then will announce 15 finalists toward the end of the year. That group of 15 finalists will be considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, which is comprised of 49 voters.
Those 49 voters will cut the list of finalists from 15 to 10 to seven players, and the selection committee will then vote for five of the seven remaining finalists. A player is selected for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame if he received 80 percent of the final vote.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee can tap as many as five Modern-Era players for induction but only chose three in 2025, making it the smallest class in two decades.
