See 4 NFL greats learn they're being inducted into Hall of Fame

NEW ORLEANS — 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.

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.

The 49 voters then got to vote for five of the seven with anyone reaching 80% or finishing in the top three getting into the Hall. In past years, the five finalists all got an up-or-down vote with all five getting in for the past 17 years.

The candidates from the seniors, coach and contributor categories were then all placed in a group with voters picking three. Candidates also needed 80% support with the top finisher automatically getting in even if he fell short.