The Pro Football Hall of Fame HAS kicked off the process of finding its 2021 class: 130 modern-era nominees were announced on Monday. That list that will be reduced to 25 semifinalists in November, to 15 finalists in January, and finally to a group of four to eight enshrinees — the number is not set — ahead of next February’s Super Bowl.
Among those who cleared the first hurdle of actually getting on the list are 23 men who at one point signed a deal with the New England Patriots. That’s 17.