Junior Seau headlines eight-man Pro Football Hall of Fame class

PHOENIX – There’s no way to think about the news that Junior Seau was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame without also thinking how much he would have enjoyed it.

Seau, the late longtime linebacker for the San Diego Chargers, Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, was the headliner of a class that also includes running back Jerome Bettis, defensive end Charles Haley, guard Will Shields, receiver Tim Brown, center Mick Tingelhoff (a senior nominee) and general managers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf. News of that class was tweeted out by many of the Hall of Fame voters on Saturday evening.

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Seau's election is bittersweet. Seau committed suicide in May of 2012. His brain was studied and found to have chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the NFL.

Tyler Seau, Seau's oldest son, represented the family at the "NFL Honors" show, as the Hall of Fame class was announced. In a press conference afterward, it was striking to see seven new Hall of Famers, old or middle-aged men, sitting on the same stage as Seau's son, who is in his mid-20s. 

"This is a huge honor for our family," Tyler Seau said. "Definitely with heavy hearts accepting this, because it should be him. But he is here with us. 

"Emotionally it's tough. We're missing a huge part. We're staying strong and this is a blessing. We're humbled to be part of this (Hall of Fame) family."

Seau was known for his infectious personality off the field and his incredible play for 20 NFL seasons.

Bettis, a two-time All-Pro, was inducted on his fifth time as a finalist. He finished with 13,662 yards in 13 seasons and finished his career with a Super Bowl XL victory.

"To think a little fat kid from Detroit who had never played football until high school could attend to this level ... this is not something I dreamed of or thought of," Bettis said.

Haley’s main argument for the Hall of Fame was the five Super Bowl rings he earned, more than any other player. He was a big part of the success of those Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers as a fantastic edge rusher. He had 100.5 sacks in his 13-year career.

Brown spent 16 of his 17 seasons with the Raiders and ended his career among the most prolific receivers in NFL history. He had 1,094 catches, 14,934 yards and 100 touchdowns.

Shields was a dominant guard for the Chiefs. He made the Pro Bowl in each of his final 12 seasons, playing 14 seasons in all for Kansas City while never missing a game.

Wolf was a longtime NFL executive but he is most famous for turning around a terrible Green Bay Packers organization, a revitalization that is still going on more than 20 years later. More specifically, Wolf swung a trade with Atlanta for quarterback Brett Favre, who went 0-for-5 in his one Falcons season, and for landing defensive end Reggie White, perhaps the greatest free-agent signing in NFL history. Wolf’s roster won Super Bowl XXXI, Green Bay’s first Super Bowl title in 29 years.

Polian is best known for putting together the core of the Buffalo Bills teams that won four straight AFC championships, then his time with the Indianapolis Colts that resulted in a Super Bowl championship.

Tingelhoff was one of the game’s best centers during his career that spanned from 1962 to 1978, getting five All-Pro nods. He never missed a game in 17 NFL seasons.

Players like Orlando Pace, Terrell Davis, John Lynch and Kurt Warner fell just short.

"There's nobody that deserves it more than Kurt," Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said. "It was tough not seeing him on that stage, but I know it's coming."

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab