Two Steelers Legends Won't Make 2025 Hall of Fame Class

A pair of Pittsburgh Steelers legends won't be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025.

Dec 4, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison (92) at the line of scrimmage against the New York Giants during the second quarter at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

PITTSBURGH -- The Pro Football Hall of Fame has released their 15 finalists for the 2025 class, and Pittsburgh Steelers legends James Harrison and Hines Ward were not included.

Here are the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. 5 players will get the honor come Super Bowl week pic.twitter.com/yBMVU76i3v

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) December 28, 2024

The linebacker and wide receiver were left out this year, but will both be eligible for next year's class as well.

Both were part of the larger group of semifinalists that had 25 players, but were cut from the list. Ward and Harris were also semifinalists for the 2024 class before getting cut then as well.

Torry Holt, Steve Smith Sr. and Reggie Wayne were named finalists at the wide receiver position instead of Ward. The linebackers named ahead of Harrison were Terrell Suggs and Luke Kuechly.

Harrison was the Steelers' sack leader at his time of retirement, but he has now been overtaken by T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward. His 84 sacks now rank third in franchise history.

Ward caught exactly 1,000 passes for 12,083 yards and 85 touchdowns in his career.

The list of players will further contract to five players during Super Bowl weekend, as those five will be named members of the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class. With the amount of elite players getting to the threshold for the Pro Football Hall Of Fame, it seems unlikely that Ward or Harrison will get a shot at induction if they haven't already.

While it seems that Watt will be a surefire Hall of Fame invite when he ends his career with the Steelers, Pittsburgh will have to wait some more time before one of its players gets in. The Steelers' 32 Hall of Famers rank as one of the highest numbers in the league, but other teams will have an opportunity to gain on them with the 2025 class.

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