Former Gamecock Sterling Sharpe elected into Class of 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Antonio Gates, Jared Allen, Eric Allen and Sterling Sharpe were voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the smallest induction class in 20 years following offseason rule changes meant to make it harder to get inducted.

Sharpe got in as a seniors candidate in voting announced Thursday night at the NFL Honors and will join younger brother Shannon as the first siblings ever inducted into the Hall. Two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning fell short and won’t join older brother Peyton in Canton, Ohio, this year.

Sharpe had a short but productive career for the Green Bay Packers from 1988-94. His best season came in 1992, when he became the sixth player to win the receiving triple crown, setting an NFL record with 108 catches for 1,461 yards and 13 touchdowns.

He broke his own record with 112 catches in 1993 and led the NFL with 18 touchdown receptions in his final season, 1994, before a neck injury cut his career short.

Sharpe was a three-time All-Pro and had 595 catches for 8,134 yards and 65 TDs. He trailed only Jerry Rice over his seven-year career in receptions and TD catches.

The Sharpe brothers will join three father-son tandems in the Hall: Tim and Wellington Mara; Art Rooney Sr. and Dan Rooney; and Ed and Steve Sabol.

The induction ceremony will be held Aug. 2.

While the small class is a change from past years when at least seven people got inducted in each of the previous 12 classes, it isn’t unprecedented.

There were only four inductees in the 2005 class and there were 18 other years with three or four inductees since the first class of 17 was enshrined in 1963.

New rules were instituted this year after a push by Hall of Famers to make the Hall more exclusive and it led directly to the smaller class. The modern era candidates were voted from 15 down to seven in the final stage, instead of five in past years.