The Pro Football Hall of Fame started with 122 candidates for the Class of 2020 and that list has officially been trimmed down to 25 semifinalists. 

The Hall of Fame announced the list of semifinalists on Tuesday and it's loaded with players who are eligible for the first time, including former Steelers safety Troy Polamalu, former Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne and former 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. 

The list also includes four other first-time semifinalists, who had all been previously nominated, but had not survived the initial cutdown. Those four players are Carl Banks, Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters and Bryant Young. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum, Steve Atwater and John Lynch will be hoping to get in after years of coming close. Atwater has been a semifinalist nine times without getting inducted, while Lynch has been named a semifinalist eight times. 

The announcement of the HOF semifinalists is the second step in the process to select the next inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Jan. 2, the Hall of Fame selection committee will be asked to trim the semifinalists list down to 15 finalists. Once the list of finalists is set, five of those players will eventually be voted in to the class of 2020. To be inducted, a finalist needs to receive at least 80 percent support from the 48-person selection committee. 

Those five inductees will actually be joined by 15 other players who will also be inducted in 2020. In honor of the NFL's 100th season, the Hall of Fame decided to induct a total of 20 players in 2020. Besides the five modern-era players, the Hall will also induct 10 seniors (a player who has been retired for more than 25 seasons), three Contributors (an individual other than a player or coach) and two coaches. 

The induction of the 15 seniors, contributors and coaches will be determined by a special 25-person blue-ribbon panel that the Hall of Fame has put together to help decide who's worthy of induction. The panel will included legendary football minds like Bill Belichick and John Madden. 

The 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame class will be announced during a Fox television special that will air Feb. 1 from Miami, one day before Super Bowl LIV.

Here's the complete list of semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2020

  • Steve Atwater, S - 1989-1998 Denver Broncos, 1999 New York Jets | (Times as a Semifinalist: 9 - 2012-2020)
  • Carl Banks, LB - 1984-1992 New York Giants, 1993 Washington Redskins, 1994-95 Cleveland Browns | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Ronde Barber, CB/S - 1997-2012 Tampa Bay Buccaneers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 - 2018-2020)
  • Tony Boselli, T - 1995-2001 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2002 Houston Texans (injured reserve) | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 - 2016-2020)
  • Isaac Bruce, WR - 1994-2007 Los Angeles/St. Louis Rams, 2008-09 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 - 2015-2020)
  • LeRoy Butler, S - 1990-2001 Green Bay Packers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 - 2018-2020)
  • Alan Faneca, G - 1998-2007 Pittsburgh Steelers, 2008-09 New York Jets, 2010 Arizona Cardinals | (Times as a Semifinalist: 5 - 2016-2020)
  • Torry Holt, WR - 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 - 2015-2020)
  • Steve Hutchinson, G - 2001-05 Seattle Seahawks, 2006-2011 Minnesota Vikings, 2012 Tennessee Titans | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 - 2018-2020)
  • Edgerrin James, RB - 1999-2005 Indianapolis Colts, 2006-08 Arizona Cardinals, 2009 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 6 - 2015-2020) 
  • John Lynch, FS - 1993-2003 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2004-07 Denver Broncos | (Times as a Semifinalist: 8 - 2013-2020)
  • Clay Matthews, LB - 1978-1993 Cleveland Browns, 1994-96 Atlanta Falcons | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 - 2012, 2017, 2019-2020)
  • Sam Mills, LB - 1986-1994 New Orleans Saints, 1995-97 Carolina Panthers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 - 2016, 2019-2020)
  • Troy Polamalu, S - 2003-2014 Pittsburgh Steelers (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Simeon Rice, DE - 1996-2000 Arizona Cardinals, 2001-06 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2007 Denver Broncos, 2007 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 - 2018, 2020)
  • Richard Seymour, DE/DT - 2001-08 New England Patriots, 2009-2012 Oakland Raiders | (Times as a Semifinalist: 3 - 2018-2020)
  • Steve Tasker, ST/WR - 1985-86 Houston Oilers, 1986-1997 Buffalo Bills | (Times as a Semifinalist: 7 - 2004, 2008-2010, 2012-13, 2020)
  • Fred Taylor, RB - 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Zach Thomas, LB - 1996-2007 Miami Dolphins, 2008 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 2 - 2019-2020)
  • Hines Ward, WR - 1998-2011 Pittsburgh Steelers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 - 2017-2020)
  • Ricky Watters, RB - 1992-94 San Francisco 49ers, 1995-97 Philadelphia Eagles, 1998-2001 Seattle Seahawks | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Reggie Wayne, WR - 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Patrick Willis, LB - 2007-2014 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)
  • Darren Woodson, S - 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys | (Times as a Semifinalist: 4 - 2015, 2017, 2019-2020)
  • Bryant Young, DT - 1994-2007 San Francisco 49ers | (Times as a Semifinalist: 1 - 2020)