WASHINGTON, D.C. — The first-ever contributor’s committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday named former NFL general managers Bill Polian and Ron Wolf as finalists for induction at the pre-Super Bowl meeting that will take place on Jan. 31, the day before Super Bowl XLIX.

Since the Hall of Fame was established in 1963, there have been 19 contributors elected to the Hall. However, 10 were elected in the first five years and only nine in the ensuing 47 years. To that end, the Hall’s Board of Trustees voted in August to create a contributor’s committee, similar to the senior’s committee, in which those nominated are voted on individually and not in competition with players and coaches.

Polian and Wolf, along with senior’s nominee center Mick Tingelhoff, will have to get 80.4 percent of the entire committee’s vote at the selection meeting, which means 37 yes votes from the 46 selectors. Those two were selected by the nine-person committee that also serves on the selection committee from a list of 11 candidates: former general manager Bobby Beathard, Broncos owner Pat Bowlen, former Cowboys vice-president of player developement Gil Brandt, former 49ers owner Edward DeBartolo Jr., former league supervisor of officials Art McNally, for Browns and Ravens owner Art Modell, former NFL films president Steve Sabol, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue and former Giants general manager George Young.

The committee considered the semifinalists during six hours of discussion and were aided by four consultants: Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen, Chicago Bears chairman of the board George McCaskey, Pittsburgh Steelers chairman Dan Rooney, one of only two living Hall of Fame contributors, and Abe Madkour, executive editor for the Sports Business Journal.

Both Polian and Wolf were taken aback when given the news by Hall president/executive director David Baker.

The first words out of both men’s mouth was a simple, “Wow!”

Wolf added, “I’m absolutely overwhelmed. This is a tremendous honor.”

The usually unflappable Polian, who currently is an analyst for ESPN and SiriusXM NFL Radio, said, “For someone in the media, I’m at a loss for words.”

Polian worked 32 years in the NFL, including two in the league office, and last was with the Indianapolis Colts as president and general manager in 2011. He helped the Colts and Buffalo Bills advance to a combined five Super Bowls, winning one with Indianapolis, and was in an NFC Championship Game with the Carolina Panthers.

Wolf spent 39 years in the league with the Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets and was executive vice president and general manager of the Green Bay Packers from 1991 to 2001. Wolf engineered the trade that brought quarterback Brett Favre from the Falcons to the Packers. Green Bay went to two consecutive Super Bowls in 1996 and 1997, winning in ’96. That year, the Packers beat Polian’s Panthers to get to the Super Bowl.

Howard Balzer is an award-winning sportswriter who has covered the National Football League for more than three decades and is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee. He served on the contributor’s committee that selected Polian and Wolf.