MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Troy Polamalu and former Indianapolis Colts running back Edgerrin James lead the five players who were elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 on Saturday.
They will be joined for enshrinement by former Denver Broncos safety Steve Atwater, former Seattle Seahawks guard Steve Hutchinson and former Rams wide receiver Isaac Bruce.
The five players will be formally announced during Saturday’s NFL Honors program Saturday night and will also be recognized during Super Bowl LIV on Sunday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The enshrinement ceremony will be held Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.
Polamalu, who was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection and the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2010, was in his first year of eligibility for the Hall of Fame. Players must be retired for at least five years before they are eligible.
It’s the 13th consecutive year that a player has been chosen in his first year of eligibility, and Polamalu is the ninth player in the last four Hall of Fame classes to be have been chosen in his first year of eligibility.
Both the Class of 2019 (Champ Bailey, Tony Gonzalez and Ed Reed) and the Class of 2018 (Ray Lewis, Randy Moss and Brian Urlacher) had three players chosen in their first year of eligibility.
James, who played collegiately at the University of Miami, retired in 2009 with 12,246 rushing yards to go with 3,364 yards receiving. He was the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year in 1999 and won the league’s rushing title his first two years — with 1,553 yards rushing in 1999 and 1,709 yards rushing in 2000.
Atwater, a punishing tackler nicknamed the “Smiling Assassin,” had six seasons with at least 100 tackles and was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, starting three Super Bowls in his career. Long-time defensive coach Wade Phillips called him “the best safety I ever coached.”
Hutchinson was a seven-time Pro Bowl selection who was named to the league’s All Decade team of the 2000s. He blocked for two different NFL rushing leaders in his career with two different teams — Shaun Alexander (Seahawks) and Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings).
Isaac Bruce retired as one of two wide receivers to have eclipsed 15,000 yards receiving in their careers — Jerry Rice was the other at the time. Bruce was part of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf” offense that won the Super Bowl to close out the 1999 season.
The five modern-era players in the Class of 2020 will be joined for enshrinement into the Hall of Fame in August by some of the 15 members of the Centennial Class, who were revealed in January and include former coaches Bill Cowher and Jimmy Johnson and former commissioner Paul Tagliabue.
Those members of the Centennial Class who aren’t inducted in August will be enshrined at the league’s 100th year celebration in September in Canton, Ohio.