SAN FRANCISCO — Brett Favre and the late Ken Stabler, a pair of kindred-spirit quarterbacks who each won a Super Bowl, were elected Saturday to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Also voted in for the class of 2016 a day before the Super Bowl were modern-day players Kevin Greene, Marvin Harrison and Orlando Pace, coach Tony Dungy, contributor Ed DeBartolo Jr., and senior selection Dick Stanfel.

The freewheeling Favre, as expected, was a first-ballot entry, a reward for a long and distinguished career, mostly with the Green Bay Packers, that included three consecutive NFL MVP awards from 1995-97 and a championship in the 1997 Super Bowl.

Stabler, a left-hander nicknamed “Snake” for his ability to slither past defenders, goes into the Hall as a senior selection about six months after dying of colon cancer at age 69 – and just days after researchers said his brain showed widespread signs of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Stabler was the 1974 league MVP and helped the Oakland Raiders win the 1977 Super Bowl. He was represented at the announcement by two of his grandsons.

Favre played for 20 seasons, eventually retiring – after famously vacillating about whether to walk away from the game – as the NFL’s career leader with 6,300 completions, 10,169 attempts, 71,838 yards and 508 TDs. He never met a pass he was afraid to throw, no matter how ill-advised it might have seemed, and wound up with a record 336 interceptions, the trade-off for his high-risk, high-reward, entertaining style.

Before Green Bay, he briefly was a member of the Atlanta Falcons. Afterward he had short stints with the New York Jets and Minnesota Vikings.

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A candidate needs 80 percent of the vote to get in.

The induction ceremony is in August in Canton, Ohio.

NFL AWARDS

Carolina quarterback Cam Newton won The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player award in a landslide.

Newton received 48 votes from a nationwide panel of 50 sports writers and broadcasters who regularly cover the league. Fellow quarterbacks Tom Brady of New England, a two-time MVP selection, and Carson Palmer of Arizona each received one vote.

Ron Rivera of Carolina won the Coach of the Year award for the second time in three years. Rivera received 361/2 votes, far in front of Andy Reid of Kansas City with six votes. Bill Belichick of the Patriots received one vote.

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 Newton earned the Offensive Player of the Year award with 18 votes. Steelers receiver Antonio Brown was next with 10. Brady had six votes.

 Defensive end J.J. Watt of Texas won the Defensive Player of the Year award for the third time.

 St. Louis running back Todd Gurley, who came off knee surgery in college to rush for 1,106 yards, won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

 Marcus Peters of Kansas City became the first cornerback in 17 years to win the Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

 Denver defensive coordinator Wade Phillips won the Assistant Coach of the Year award.

 Kansas City safety Eric Berry, who missed 10 games the previous season battling lymphoma, then returned to become an All-Pro, won the Comeback Player of the Year award.


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