Six-time Super Bowl-winning owner Robert Kraft and Bud Adams, who founded the Houston Oilers and was a key part of the formation of the AFL, are among the nine contributors who advanced to the semifinal stage for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026.

A blue-ribbon committee reduced the candidates from an initial list of 21 nominees in voting released Thursday. The committee will meet next Tuesday to select one finalist who will advance to voting conducted by the full selection committee early next year.

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There also will be 15 modern-era finalists, three seniors and one coach for the Class of 2026. Between four and eight new members will be elected in the second year of this current format.

The semifinalist

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