Football honors:
Reed, Law, Bailey and Mawae also elected
Patrick Mahomes honored for MVP season; Tony Gonzalez, Ed Reed lead latest Hall of Fame Class.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2019 class is set.
Tight end Tony Gonzalez, safety Ed Reed, center Kevin Mawae and cornerbacks Champ Bailey and Ty Law were were selected Saturday as the modernera inductees for the class. Gonzalez, Reed and Bailey all were picked in their first year of eligibility.
One senior finalist, safety Johnny Robinson, and two contributor finalists, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and former Cowboys executive Gil Brandt, also made the cut to join the class.
Gonzalez is the all-time leader among tight ends in catches (1,325) and receiving yards (15,127). In 17 seasons (12 with the Chiefs and five with the Falcons), he was a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and six-time all-pro.
Reed patrolled the Ravens’ secondary for 11 years, earning nine Pro Bowl berths and five all-pro selections, before playing for the Jets and Texans in his final season. His 64 interceptions rank seventh in NFL history, and no other player has more interception return yards (1,590).
Bailey spent the first five years of his career with the Redskins before being traded to the Broncos, for whom he would play another 10 seasons, in exchange for running back Clinton Portis. A 12-time Pro Bowl selection, Bailey finished with 52 interceptions.
Law served as one of the linchpins of three Super Bowl-winning Patriots teams. A member of the NFL all-decade team for the 2000s, he was selected to five Pro Bowls and finished his career with 53 interceptions. Former teammate Tom Brady wrote a letter to the selection committee vouching for Law and former Patriots defensive lineman Richard Seymour, who did not make the final cut after being named a finalist this year.
Mawae earned Pro Bowl nods in eight of his 12 pro seasons. He spent eight years with the Jets, a run sandwiched between four-year stints with the Seahawks and Titans.
Robinson played 12 season for the
Dallas Texans, who would later become the Kansas City Chiefs. After starting his pro career as a running back, he switched to safety after two seasons and recorded 57 interceptions in 10 years.
During Bowlen’s 35-year ownership, the Broncos have claimed three Super Bowl titles and reached the playoffs 18 times. He also stands as the only owner to win 300 games in his first 30 seasons. Due to complications with Alzheimer’s, he relinquished his day-to-day control of the organization in 2014.
Brandt served as the Cowboys’ vice president of player personnel from 1960 to 1989, a period during which the franchise won two Super Bowl titles and recorded a stretch of 20 consecutive winning seasons.
The 2019 class will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in a ceremony in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 3.