The NFL unveiled its list of 128 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, and several former San Francisco 49ers made the cut. Headlining the group of former 49ers is legendary running back Frank Gore, the franchise's all-time leading rusher, along with former quarterback Alex Smith. Both are in their first year of eligibility.
Gore, who played 16 NFL seasons, ranks third all-time with 16,000 rushing yards, trailing only Emmitt Smith and Walter Payton. A five-time Pro Bowl selection, he also earned a spot on the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team.
Smith, selected first overall by the 49ers in 2005, threw for 35,650 yards and 199 touchdowns during his 16-year career. After eight seasons in San Francisco, he played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders before retiring following the 2020 season.
NBC Sports Bay Area's Matt Maiocco highlighted 16 former 49ers on this year's nominee list:
- QB Jeff Garcia
- QB Alex Smith
- RB Ricky Watters
- RB Frank Gore
- WR Anquan Boldin
- WR Brandon Lloyd
- TE Vernon Davis
- TE Delanie Walker
- OL Joe Staley
- DL Justin Smith
- DL Ted Washington
- LB NaVorro Bowman
- LB Takeo Spikes
- LB Lee Woodall
- K David Akers
- K Gary Anderson
Below is the full list of modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 provided by NFL Media:
*-Finalist (final 15) for the Class of 2025. Underline indicates first year of eligibility. (Players must have last played at least five full seasons ago to be eligible for nomination. Therefore, any individual who last played in 2020 is eligible for the first time in 2026.)
QUARTERBACKS (10): Drew Brees, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, *-Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Philip Rivers, Alex Smith.
RUNNING BACKS (21): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), Jamaal Charles, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Arian Foster, Eddie George, Frank Gore, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), *-Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters.
WIDE RECEIVERS (18): Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Larry Fitzgerald, *-Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Brandon Lloyd, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, *-Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, *-Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White.
TIGHT ENDS (6): Vernon Davis, Zach Miller, Greg Olsen, Wesley Walls, Delanie Walker, Jason Witten.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (22): *-Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Ryan Clady (T), David DeCastro (G), *-Jahri Evans (G), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Olin Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Maurkice Pouncey (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Josh Sitton (G), Joe Staley (T), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), *-Marshal Yanda (G).
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (13): John Abraham (DE also LB), Geno Atkins (DT), Jurrell Casey (DT), Elvis Dumervil (DE), La'Roi Glover (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT), Jay Ratliff (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Justin Smith (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT).
LINEBACKERS (14): NaVorro Bowman, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, Thomas Davis, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, A.J. Hawk, *-Luke Kuechly, Clay Matthews III, Dat Nguyen, Takeo Spikes, *-Terrell Suggs, Lee Woodall.
DEFENSIVE BACKS (15): Eric Berry (S), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (S), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison (S), James Hasty (CB), Carnell Lake (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Asante Samuel (CB), Patrick Surtain (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), *-Darren Woodson (S).
PUNTERS/KICKERS (7): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), *-Adam Vinatieri (K).
SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB).