Inside Pro Football Hall of Fame's Rules Following Deion Sanders' Comments on Changes

The Pro Football Hall of Fame may become more exclusive following recent rule changes.

The idea that too many borderline candidates were being enshrined in Canton, Ohio, generated plenty of attention in August 2022 when Deion Sanders suggested as much and said, "the Hall of Fame ain't the Hall of Fame no more."

Sanders is one of the best defensive players in league history and said perhaps his gold jacket should be a different color to indicate as such.

With the 2025 class set to be announced Thursday, Mike Sando of The Athletic explained the Hall of Fame implemented stricter rules in August in an effort to "help ensure that membership in the Hall of Fame remains elite."

Sando explained that the 179 new members inducted from 2000 to 2024 was significantly higher than the 118 selected the previous 25 years, although that did include a special 20-member NFL Centennial class in 2020.

What's more, the maximum of five modern-era candidates have been selected for 17 straight years after a 4.1 average the previous 40 years.

With the new rules in place, the selection committee will reduce the 15 finalists to seven before each voter then picks five of the seven for enshrinement. Yet candidates must receive 80 percent of the vote for inclusion, although if fewer than three make that threshold the three with the most votes are selected.

"The chances for a five-man class are diminished under new rules," Sando noted since in the past the 15 finalists were reduced to five before voters then simply said "yes" or "no" for those five with 80 percent yes votes required.

It remains to be seen if the new rules will have an impact on this year's class, which will be revealed from the list of 15 modern-era finalists:

• Eric Allen, CB
• Jared Allen, DE
• Willie Anderson, OT
• Jahri Evans, G
• Antonio Gates, TE
• Torry Holt, WR
• Luke Kuechly, LB
• Eli Manning, QB
• Steve Smith Jr., WR
• Terrell Suggs, LB
• Fred Taylor, RB
• Adam Vinatieri, K
• Reggie Wayne, WR
• Darren Woodson, S
• Marshal Yanda, G

The class will be announced during Thursday's NFL Honors show.