Robert Mathis, Reggie Wayne and Adam Vinatieri all advanced to the next stage of Pro Football Hall of Fame voting, with the trio of Colts greats among 52 former players who moved past the initial list of nominations on Wednesday.
Mathis, the NFL's strip sack king, has been a semifinalist for each of the last four years, covering all of his years of eligibility. Wayne has been a finalist in all six previous years of his eligibility, while Vinatieri was named a finalist last year, his first time being eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Wayne, despite being one of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL regular season and postseason history, has not taken his place in Canton yet. Vinatieri is widely considered the greatest kicker in NFL history and, like Wayne, has a strong case for a gold jacket.
Also among the players who made the first cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 Wednesday are former Colts quarterback Philip Rivers (2020) and former Colts running back Frank Gore (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.
