Roethlisberger, Pouncey, Porter new Hall of Honor class
The Steelers have chosen Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey and Joey Porter to be inducted into the team's Hall of Honor as the class of 2025.
"I'm excited to welcome another great group of Steelers into our Hall of Honor," Art Rooney II said Saturday afternoon at Saint Vincent College. "To welcome a group of guys that mean so much to Steelers football, mean so much to our fans, these three guys made a difference for us over the course of their careers. This group is a pretty special group."
To be inducted into the Steelers' Hall of Honor, former players must be retired for at least three seasons, must have played in Pittsburgh for a minimum of three seasons and must possess noteworthy career highlights, records and achievements. Coaches or contributors must have made significant contributions to the team and the community.
Roethlisberger makes a great case as the greatest quarterback in franchise history. After being drafted 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, he immediately made an impact, setting the record for the most wins as a rookie (13-0 record) en route to a franchise-best 15-1 season. Quickly earning the nickname Big Ben, he led the team to two Super Bowl wins in 2005 and 2008, and among those who would be eligible for the team's Hall of Honor, he holds the franchise records for passing yards (64,088), passing touchdowns (418), passer rating (93.5) and completion percentage (64.4%).
No Steelers has played more games than Roethlisberger (249). And with Roethlisberger at quarterback for 18 seasons, the Steelers had 12 postseason berths, won eight AFC North championships, played in five AFC Championship games and went to three Super Bowls, winning two of them.
Among Roethlisberger's greatest accomplishments are ranking fifth all time in passing yards, eighth in passing touchdowns and holds the NFL record with four games of at least 500 yards passing (three in the regular season, one in the playoffs). According to the team, Roethlisberger holds or shares at least 52 franchise regular-season records and 18 more franchise postseason records.
Roethlisberger is also responsible for two of the greatest and most pivotal moments in franchise history. His tackle of Nick Harper after Jerome Bettis' fumble in the 2005 divisional round helped preserve victory on the team's run to Super Bowl XL. In addition, Roethlisberger's game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII remains one of the greatest plays in NFL history.
"Obviously he'll be going to Canton in a year or two," Rooney said. "He's one of our great players of all time. He rewrote the record book for the Steelers and got us two more Super Bowl trophies. A top-10 player of all time at his position. Obviously, a very deserving member of the Hall of Honor this year."
Pouncey came in as a first-round pick in 2010 and immediately became one of the game's premier centers, earning second-team All-Pro honors on the team's run to Super Bowl XLV, which the Steelers lost to the Packers. Despite injuries limiting him to one game in 2013 and costing him the entire 2015 season, Pouncey's 11 seasons with the Steelers, nine Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros were enough to cement him as one of the greatest centers in franchise history, at least in the same conversation as Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson.
Pouncey anchored the offensive line for more than a decade, paving the way for four 1,00-yard rushers and protected Roethlisberger in the passing game. But, his leadership helped preserve his legacy. Pouncey was a four-time team captain, and there's no denying how much Roethlisberger valued Pouncey. It's no accident the two are being inducted into the Hall of Honor in the same class.
"They're excited about being in together," Rooney said. "When I called Ben, he was actually the first one I got this week to give him the word, and the first thing he said was, 'Well, who are the other ones?' I said, 'I can't tell you yet, I haven't talked to them yet.' And I think he was hoping one of the other ones was going to be Maurkice, for sure."
Porter is one of the greatest pass rushers in franchise history. After the likes of Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene moved on, Porter helped preserve the standard of having great outside linebackers.
His 60 sacks with the Steelers ranked fourth in franchise history when he retired in 2006, and curently rank seventh. Porter not only was first-team All-Pro and second-team All-Pro twice while wearing black and gold, but he was a huge reason why the defense played so well during the team's 2005 Super Bowl run. He was undoubtedly the emotional leader on the team. That translated to the field with three sacks in the playoffs. But, he also did things off the field, such as organizing the team wearing Bettis' Notre Dame No. 6 jersey, including USC alum Troy Polamalu, when traveling to Detroit for the Super Bowl.
This is a special day for Porter. Not only is he being inducted into the team's Hall of Honor, but it's happening on Joey Porter Jr.'s birthday:
"It's an honor. You know the people and the guys that are in the Hall of Honor. You always want to be remembered as one of those guys," Porter said. "Having the opportunity to get the call now and finally be in, it's an exciting day for the Porter family. To get announced today is even more crazy because today is my son's birthday. Getting to share that with him, it was 25 years ago I left for training camp for him to be born in California. It's just a full circle thinking about everything with where we're at now."
The 2025 Hall of Honor class will be honored during the Steelers' Monday Night Football game against the Dolphins on Dec. 15 at Acrisure Stadium.
THE ASYLUM
Roethlisberger, Pouncey, Porter new Hall of Honor class
The Steelers have chosen Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey and Joey Porter to be inducted into the team's Hall of Honor as the class of 2025.
"I'm excited to welcome another great group of Steelers into our Hall of Honor," Art Rooney II said Saturday afternoon at Saint Vincent College. "To welcome a group of guys that mean so much to Steelers football, mean so much to our fans, these three guys made a difference for us over the course of their careers. This group is a pretty special group."
To be inducted into the Steelers' Hall of Honor, former players must be retired for at least three seasons, must have played in Pittsburgh for a minimum of three seasons and must possess noteworthy career highlights, records and achievements. Coaches or contributors must have made significant contributions to the team and the community.
Roethlisberger makes a great case as the greatest quarterback in franchise history. After being drafted 11th overall in the 2004 NFL Draft, he immediately made an impact, setting the record for the most wins as a rookie (13-0 record) en route to a franchise-best 15-1 season. Quickly earning the nickname Big Ben, he led the team to two Super Bowl wins in 2005 and 2008, and among those who would be eligible for the team's Hall of Honor, he holds the franchise records for passing yards (64,088), passing touchdowns (418), passer rating (93.5) and completion percentage (64.4%).
No Steelers has played more games than Roethlisberger (249). And with Roethlisberger at quarterback for 18 seasons, the Steelers had 12 postseason berths, won eight AFC North championships, played in five AFC Championship games and went to three Super Bowls, winning two of them.
Among Roethlisberger's greatest accomplishments are ranking fifth all time in passing yards, eighth in passing touchdowns and holds the NFL record with four games of at least 500 yards passing (three in the regular season, one in the playoffs). According to the team, Roethlisberger holds or shares at least 52 franchise regular-season records and 18 more franchise postseason records.
Roethlisberger is also responsible for two of the greatest and most pivotal moments in franchise history. His tackle of Nick Harper after Jerome Bettis' fumble in the 2005 divisional round helped preserve victory on the team's run to Super Bowl XL. In addition, Roethlisberger's game-winning touchdown pass to Santonio Holmes in Super Bowl XLIII remains one of the greatest plays in NFL history.
"Obviously he'll be going to Canton in a year or two," Rooney said. "He's one of our great players of all time. He rewrote the record book for the Steelers and got us two more Super Bowl trophies. A top-10 player of all time at his position. Obviously, a very deserving member of the Hall of Honor this year."
Pouncey came in as a first-round pick in 2010 and immediately became one of the game's premier centers, earning second-team All-Pro honors on the team's run to Super Bowl XLV, which the Steelers lost to the Packers. Despite injuries limiting him to one game in 2013 and costing him the entire 2015 season, Pouncey's 11 seasons with the Steelers, nine Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros were enough to cement him as one of the greatest centers in franchise history, at least in the same conversation as Mike Webster and Dermontti Dawson.
Pouncey anchored the offensive line for more than a decade, paving the way for four 1,00-yard rushers and protected Roethlisberger in the passing game. But, his leadership helped preserve his legacy. Pouncey was a four-time team captain, and there's no denying how much Roethlisberger valued Pouncey. It's no accident the two are being inducted into the Hall of Honor in the same class.
"They're excited about being in together," Rooney said. "When I called Ben, he was actually the first one I got this week to give him the word, and the first thing he said was, 'Well, who are the other ones?' I said, 'I can't tell you yet, I haven't talked to them yet.' And I think he was hoping one of the other ones was going to be Maurkice, for sure."
Porter is one of the greatest pass rushers in franchise history. After the likes of Greg Lloyd and Kevin Greene moved on, Porter helped preserve the standard of having great outside linebackers.
His 60 sacks with the Steelers ranked fourth in franchise history when he retired in 2006, and curently rank seventh. Porter not only was first-team All-Pro and second-team All-Pro twice while wearing black and gold, but he was a huge reason why the defense played so well during the team's 2005 Super Bowl run. He was undoubtedly the emotional leader on the team. That translated to the field with three sacks in the playoffs. But, he also did things off the field, such as organizing the team wearing Bettis' Notre Dame No. 6 jersey, including USC alum Troy Polamalu, when traveling to Detroit for the Super Bowl.
This is a special day for Porter. Not only is he being inducted into the team's Hall of Honor, but it's happening on Joey Porter Jr.'s birthday:
"It's an honor. You know the people and the guys that are in the Hall of Honor. You always want to be remembered as one of those guys," Porter said. "Having the opportunity to get the call now and finally be in, it's an exciting day for the Porter family. To get announced today is even more crazy because today is my son's birthday. Getting to share that with him, it was 25 years ago I left for training camp for him to be born in California. It's just a full circle thinking about everything with where we're at now."
The 2025 Hall of Honor class will be honored during the Steelers' Monday Night Football game against the Dolphins on Dec. 15 at Acrisure Stadium.
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