Six-time Super Bowl winner Robert Kraft and breakthrough quarterback Doug Williams have been named among nine semifinalists in the contributor category of the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The names of the candidates announced on Wednesday came after the Blue Ribbon committee cut the list less than 25 people. The committee will meet on November 12 to select a finalist for consideration by the Hall’s full selection committee early next year.

One of the contributors will be grouped as follows: a candidate coach And three senior candidates. One to three of these five finalists will be able to enter the Hall if they receive at least 80% of the votes from the full committee.

Kraft purchased the New England Patriots in 1994 and quickly turned them into one of the most successful teams in the NFL. He hired Bill Belichick as coach in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl titles from 2001-2018.

The semifinalists include three other owners, including two who changed franchises during their tenure.

Art Modell was one of the league’s most influential owners, as he was the longtime chairman of the NFL’s television committee. But he drew the ire of fans in Cleveland after moving his team to Baltimore in 1996.

Bud Adams was the founder of the Houston Oilers and a prominent figure in the AFL. He eventually moved his franchise to Tennessee and changed its name to the Titans.

Ralph Hay owned the Canton Bulldogs from 1918-22 and hosted the meeting that led to the formation of the NFL.

Art Rooney Jr., a member of the family that owns the Steelers. He also made the cut.

Williams was the first black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl with Washington during the 1987 season. He later worked in the team’s front office.

Other candidates include John Wooten, a longtime scout and executive who later became president of the Fritz Pollard Alliance, which pushed the NFL to hire more minority head coaches; longtime manager Frank “Bucko” Kilroy; and Seymour Siwoff, former owner and president of Elias Sports Bureau.

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