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Eli Manning and Marshawn Lynch are among the high-profile players who will be eligible for ballot consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Other notable names who retired after the 2019 season and will therefore eligible to be considered this year include Adam Vinatieri, Earl Thomas, Luke Kuechly, Terrell Suggs and Clay Matthews III.
Manning spent 16 seasons as quarterback for the New York Giants. He is one of six players in NFL history to receive multiple Super Bowl MVP awards after leading the team to victories over the New England Patriots in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
One of those MVP awards came after he hauled in 255 yards and two touchdowns during Super Bowl XLII to hand the record-breaking 18-0 Patriots their first loss of the 2007 season.
Manning holds the all-time Giants records for career passing yards (57,023), completions (4,895), touchdowns (366) and wins (117).
Lynch played for the Buffalo Bills, Seattle Seahawks and Oakland Raiders through 12 seasons, including five Pro Bowl campaigns and one All-Pro season.
Beast Mode led the NFL in rushing touchdowns in 2013 and 2014, then scored a touchdown in Super Bowl XLVIII to help the Seahawks win their first championship in franchise history.
Prior to that, Lynch made one of the most memorable runs of his career during a 2010 NFC wild-card game. The Seahawks running back rushed for 67 yards, while breaking nine tackles, to make it to the end zone in what became known as the "Beast Quake."
He retired following the 2019 season as one of 31 running backs in NFL history with more than 10,000 career rushing yards.
Vinatieri earned the nickname "Automatic Adam" during 24 seasons as a kicker for the New England Patriots and Indianapolis Colts.
He kicked the game-winning field goal to secure the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory in 2001, then repeated the feat in 2004. He finished his career with four Super Bowl rings as the first NFL player to record 1,000 points with two separate teams.
Earl Thomas spent nine seasons as a safety for the Seahawks, where he was named to five consecutive Pro Bowls and three straight All-Pros as part of Seattle's "Legion of Boom" defense alongside Richard Sherman, Kam Chancellor and Brandon Browner.
That group helped lead the Seahawks to one of the most lopsided Super Bowl wins in history in 2014.
Kuechly, a former Carolina Panthers linebacker, was named the AP Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2012 after leading the NFL with 164 combined tackles, then became the youngest player in NFL history to receive the Defensive Player of the Year award the following season.
That was the first of seven straight Pro Bowl campaigns he recorded with the Panthers. During the team's run to Super Bowl 50 in 2016, the linebacker recorded a pick-six to lead Carolina to a NFC Championship victory.
Suggs spent 16 seasons as a linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens, where he earned six Pro Bowl nominations, Defensive Rookie and Defensive Player of the Year awards, and a Super Bowl title in 2012. He holds the all-time Ravens franchise record with 132.5 career sacks.
The linebacker finished out his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he won another Super Bowl in 2019. He currently sits eighth on the NFL's all-time sacks list with 139 career sacks, and he ranks first of all time in career tackles for loss with 202.
Matthews played 10 seasons and was named to six Pro Bowls with the Green Bay Packers, where he ranks second in franchise history with 83.5 career sacks. He played a key role with three tackles during their Super Bowl XLV win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2011.
Other notable potential candidates for consideration for the Class of 2025 are Demaryius Thomas, Vernon Davis, Aqib Talib, Marshal Yanda, Joe Staley, Ryan Kalil and Darren Sproles.
If named to the ballot and voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, these candidates would be enshrined in Canton, Ohio in 2025.
