Tony Boselli headlines Pro Football Hall of Fame Class for 2022

By Eric D. Williams
FOX Sports NFL Writer

LOS ANGELES — The wait is finally over for Tony Boselli.

A six-time finalist in his 16th year of eligibility, the former Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle was voted in as part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2022 class, announced Thursday night.

Joining Boselli on the list of modern-era candidates who made it are linebacker Sam Mills, safety LeRoy Butler and defensive linemen Bryant Young and Richard Seymour.

Selected by the Hall’s board of selectors in January, this year’s class was announced live on the "NFL Honors" show in Los Angeles. The new members are scheduled for enshrinement in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6.

Those five are headed to Canton, along with three nominated by the Hall of Fame’s senior, coach and contributor committee: coach Dick Vermeil, receiver Cliff Branch and Art McNally, who becomes the first NFL official voted into the Hall of Fame.

First-time eligible candidates Andre Johnson, DeMarcus Ware and Devin Hester were finalists but did not make it into the Hall with this year’s class. Instead, players who had patiently waited their turn are headed to Canton, including Mills, who made the cut in his 20th and final year of eligibility as a modern-era candidate before moving to the senior pool of candidates.

Other finalists who did not make the cut this year include Ronde Barber, Jared Allen, Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt, Zach Thomas, Patrick Willis and Willie Anderson.

A member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-1990s second-team, Boselli was a five-time Pro Bowler and voted to the All-Pro team three times, so there was little argument about his ability on the field.

However, a nagging shoulder injury cut short his career to seven NFL seasons.

The first-ever draft selection of the Jaguars, Boselli started 90 of 91 games and six postseason games in six seasons with the Jaguars from 1995 to 2001. He allowed only 15.5 sacks during his pro career, including just one sack his rookie season.

"He is in that same category with Willie Roaf, Anthony Munoz, Jonathan Ogden and Walter Jones," Hall of Famer and longtime former NFL scout Gil Brandt said. "He is equal to all those guys. If you put all of those guys together, you’d have a hard time deciding who you were going to take number one." 

Added Hall of Famer Jason Taylor: "If they didn’t turn off the lights, he would still be kicking my ass. There definitely needs to be room for Tony in it."

Mills was a three-time finalist. The late New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers linebacker was known as a hard hitter who played with relentlessness on the football field.

At 5-foot-9 and 230 pounds, Mills played 15 seasons as pro, recording more than 100 tackles eight times and earning five Pro Bowl selections.

Mills was inducted into the Saints' Ring of Honor last year and was elected to the team's Hall of Fame in 1998 and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame in 2001.

Seymour won three Super Bowls with the New England Patriots, serving as part of that team’s dominant defense. He compiled 57.5 career sacks in 12 seasons with the Patriots and Oakland Raiders.

Seymour helped the Patriots win six AFC East titles in seven seasons, was voted to seven Pro Bowls and was named to the league’s All-Decade team of the 2000s.  

Butler was the only player in the 1990s to post 35-plus interceptions (36) and 15-plus sacks (17.5) in that decade. For his effort, Butler was named to the all-decade team for the 1990s. A three-time finalist, Butler finished with 38 interceptions and 20 sacks in his 12 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.

An imposing presence in the middle of San Francisco’s defense, Young finished with 89.5 sacks and 76 tackles for loss in his career with the 49ers. Young also earned Comeback Player of the Year in 1999, recording 11 sacks after suffering a career-threatening tibia-fibula fracture the previous season.

One of the first deep threats in the game, Branch finished with 501 catches for 8,685 yards and 67 touchdowns, averaging 17.3 yards per reception. The former track athlete played from 1972 to 1985 and was a member of all three of the Raiders’ Super Bowl-winning teams.

Vermeil guided the Philadelphia Eagles to a Super Bowl appearance after the 1980 regular season and led the St. Louis Rams’ "Greatest Show on Turf" to a Super Bowl win after the 1999 regular season.

McNally worked as an NFL official for nine years before being hired as the league’s supervisor of officials in 1968. However, McNally is known as the "father of NFL replay," having introduced the system to the league before it became a regular part of the game.

First-time eligible players for the class of 2023 include offensive lineman Joe Thomas, defensive end Dwight Freeney, linebacker James Harrison and cornerback Darrelle Revis.

Eric D. Williams has reported on the NFL for more than a decade, covering the Los Angeles Rams for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Chargers for ESPN and the Seattle Seahawks for the Tacoma News Tribune. Follow him on Twitter @eric_d_williams.