When it was announced the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class was consist of only four members, it fulfilled some predictions about the effect of new voting rules.
And the offshoot is those rules are going to make much more difficult for former Miami Dolphins great Richmond Webb to find his way to Canton.
Webb became a Hall semifinalist for the first time but didn’t quite make the cut to the 15 finalists, and the list of players standing in his way will only grow next year.
Per new rules, the candidates who made it to the final seven for the Class of 2025 but were not elected automatically will become finalists for the Class of 2026. Those four former players are Luke Kuechly, Torry Holt, Adam Vinatieri and Willie Anderson.
Like Webb, Anderson was an elite offensive tackle and he’s clearly ahead in the pecking order.
And this is where the shrinking size of the Hall classes based on the new rules, which require the seven finalists to get at least 80 percent of the votes for a class that can be no larger than five modern-era players, will hurt Webb.
The Hall of Fame Class of 2025 and Selection Process
The four inductees this year were Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates and Sterling Sharpe.
They were elected from the Modern-Era Players pool of candidates that this cycle began with 167 nominees who last played professional football in the 2019 season.
That list was reduced three times (to 50 nominees, 25 Semifinalists and 15 Finalists) before the annual selection meeting.
The other Finalists this year were Willie Anderson, Jahri Evans, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly, Eli Manning, Steve Smith Sr., Terrell Suggs, Fred Taylor, Adam Vinatieri, Reggie Wayne, Darren Woodson and Marshal Yanda.
During the selection meeting, the list of 15 Finalists was cut to 10, then to 7 before the final vote. In that final vote, a maximum of five and minimum of three individuals could have been elected to the new class, each needing 80% approval from the selectors, who could cast a ballot for five of the remaining seven.
By reaching the final 7 but not getting elected (falling short of 80% approval), Anderson, Holt, Kuechly and Vinatieri will advance automatically to the Finalist stage (15 remaining) for the Class of 2026 under the Hall of Fame’s bylaws for the selection process.
Sharpe was elected from a second pool of five candidates that included the Finalists chosen by the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee (Sharpe, Maxie Baughan and Jim Tyrer), Coach Blue-Ribbon Committee (Mike Holmgren) and Contributor Blue-Ribbon Committee (Ralph Hay). Under the Hall’s bylaws, from one to three individuals could have been elected from this group; only Sharpe reached the required voting threshold.
What’s Ahead for Webb, Other Dolphins
Beyond having to overtake Anderson and the other 2026 finalists, Webb also will have to contend with those players who will become eligible for the Hall of Fame for the first time next year.
That list includes Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald, who both have a strong case to be first-ballot inductees, along with former Dolphins running back Frank Gore, who’s also almost a lock to become a Hall of Famer and even might have a chance to do it as a first-ballot inductee.
Other first-time eligible players include former Dolphins center Mike Pouncey and his twin Maurkice, Philip Rivers, Jason Witten and LeSean McCoy.
Dolphins Hall of Famers
The Dolphins have 11 Hall of Famers, players whose biggest contributions came while with the team or who made a big impact with Miami.
The list consists of Coach Don Shula, quarterbacks Bob Griese and Dan Marino, running back Larry Csonka, wide receiver Paul Warfield, offensive linemen Jim Langer, Larry Little, and Dwight Stephenson, defensive end Jason Taylor, and linebackers Nick Buoniconti and Zach Thomas.
Other Hall of Famers who spent time with Miami but made their name with another organization include executives George Young and Bobby Beathard, head coach Jimmy Johnson, running back Thurman Thomas, wide receiver Cris Carter, and linebacker Junior Seau.
