The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the 173 Modern-Era nominees for the 2024 Class and a pair of Erie natives were on the list.

Cathedral Prep and  Central Tech standouts Bob Sanders and fellow Rambler Mark Stepnoski were selected as nominees for this year's class.

Sanders played his freshman year at Central Tech before finishing his school career at Cathedral Prep where he earned all-state honors his junior and senior seasons. The former Rambler had his number 20 jersey retired in 2007. Sanders went on to play college football four seasons at the University of Iowa. He was a second-team All-American in 2023 and was a three-time All-Big Ten safety. Sanders was selected 44 overall by the Indianapolis Colts in the 20004 NFL Draft. He played 7 years with the Colts and was named the 2007 NFL AP Defensive Player of the Year. Sanders was selected twice to the Pro Bowl and was a two-time First Team All-Pro. Sanders was selected to the Metro Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2015.

Mark Stepnoski graduated from Cathedral Prep in 1985. Stepnoski played four years at the University of Pittsburgh. In 1988, he was a first-team All-American and one of three finalists for the Outland Trophy in his senior season. The Dallas Cowboys selected the Panthers' guard in the third round of the 1988 NFL Draft. Stepnoski played nine seasons in Dallas where he was a three-time Pro Bowl selection. In 1995 Stepnoski joined Houston and played four seasons between the Oilers and Tennessee where he added two more Pro Bowl selections. The veteran guard ended his career with a return to Dallas. Stepnoski was selected to the Metro Erie Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 2018. He was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in October 2019. 

The local teams are well represented as well. The Buffalo Bills had 12 former players on the 2024 nominee list. The Steelers had nine nominees while Cleveland had six.

This list will reduced to 25 semifinalist in November. 

Buffalo Bills Nominees:

QB Doug Flutie

FB Larry Centers

OG Ruben Brown

DT Ted Washington

DT Pat Williams

LB Cornelius Bennett

LB London Fletcher

LB Bryce Paup

LB Takeo Spikes

DB Troy Vincent

CB Antoine Winfield

P Brian Moorman

Cleveland Browns Nominees

Josh Cribs

RB Eric Metcalf

QB Jake Delhomme

RB Jamal Lewis

WR Andre Rison

OT Lomas Brown

Pittsburgh Steelers Nominees

K Gary Anderson

LB James Farrior

DT Casey Hampton

LB James Harrison

FB John Kuhn

DB Carnell Lake

LB Hardy Nickerson

LB Joey Porter Sr.

LB Mike Vrabel

WR Hines Ward