The Pro Football Hall of Fame added four members on Saturday, with Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe, Antonio Gates and Eric Allen enshrined as the class of 2025 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio.
The four new inductees received their signature gold jackets during a dinner on Friday night. Prior to the quartet giving acceptance speeches on stage, the ceremony honored host Chris Berman, who emceed the Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony for the 25th time. Pittsburgh Steelers legend Lynn Swann, class of 2001, presented Berman with a silver anniversary football.
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Coach Marv Levy, also part of the 2001 class, was recognized for his 100th birthday, which is on Sunday (Aug. 3). Thurman Thomas, class of 2007, who played for Levy from 1998-97 with the Buffalo Bills, called him “the best coach I ever had.”
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Jared Allen was the first of the inductees to take the stage. He was presented by his father, Ron Allen. Wearing a cowboy hat, Allen joked that he felt bad about giving bad advice — such as eating three jalapeno peppers before a game — to parents who asked for tips to a successful football career, often when he was having dinner or with family members.
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Finally enshrined in his fifth year of eligibility, Allen thanked his wife for elevating him and their two daughters, who he called “his legacy.”
From Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab:
“[Allen] was entertaining as a player, with 136 career sacks during stints with the Vikings, Chiefs, Bears and Panthers, and also unapologetically himself. His famous calf-roping celebration after sacks was a part of who he was, and maybe the most memorable part of a great career.”
Up next was Sterling Sharpe. Appropriately, he was presented by his brother Shannon Sharpe, class of 2011. The two now comprise the first brother tandem to be inducted into Canton.
Sharpe thanked his mother for giving him the name “Sterling,” which helped him stand…
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