ATLANTA - For Tony Gonzalez, a towering tight end who dominated his position in the NFL, this was a slam dunk.
The 6-foot-5 Gonzalez, who turned the celebratory post-touchdown jam over the crossbar into an art form, was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.
Joining the former Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons standout will be two more first-time nominees, cornerback Champ Bailey and safety Ed Reed, along with another defensive back, Ty Law, and center Kevin Mawae, who finished his career with the Tennessee Titans. Law and Mawae was each in his third year as a finalist.
The contributor nominees, Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen and Dallas Cowboys and NFL executive Gil Brandt, both made it, as did senior Johnny Robinson, the defensive back who helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl IV.
Gonzalez started in Kansas City and finished in Atlanta, where voters met on the eve of the Super Bowl to select the class of 2019. They didn't need much time to debate his worthiness.
In short, Gonzalez had more than his fair share of chances to jam. (Maybe not by accident, the NFL banned the practice in 2014, the year after he retired.)
The most prolific pass catcher at his position over a 17-year career, Gonzalez had 1,325 receptions (second in NFL history) for 15,127 yards (sixth) and 111 touchdowns. He was a six-time All-Pro who made 14 Pro Bowls, and his 916 catches with the Chiefs set one of 22 franchise records he held upon his retirement.
"I knew I had a good chance, I'm not going to lie about that," he said. "Still, when you hear the knock, your heart drops."
As it turns out, Gonzalez isn't the only one who can get good air.
"Threw my phone across the room," Mawae said of his reaction upon learning he was in. "I had a higher vertical than at the combine."
Bailey starred at the University of Georgia before a 15-year NFL career that started with the Washington Redskins and finished with the Broncos. His pro statistics weren't record-breaking, but that's in part because Bailey was, for a huge chunk of his career, considered the best cover guy in the league. Most quarterbacks simply avoided him.
He still made three All-Pro teams and 12 Pro Bowls and collected 52 interceptions.
His best-remembered pick was a 103-yard return against the New England Patriots' Tom Brady in the 2006 playoffs that did not go for a touchdown. Denver did score shortly afterward, though, on the way to the win.
Eight years later, Bailey made his only Super Bowl.
"This is home and timing was just right for it," said Bailey, who grew up in Folkston, near the Georgia-Florida line. "Having Pat Bowlen go in, I never expected it to be like this."
The newest inductees will don their gold jackets in August in Canton, Ohio, and this will mark the first time more than two defensive backs have made it in the same class.
Reed won his only title in the 2012 season, his last with the Ravens. Running the defense from his safety position, he was a standout playmaker on a roster full of them - including Peter Boulware, Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs. Reed finished his career with 64 interceptions, and he led the league in that category three times.
"Smartest player I ever coached," said Reed's former head coach, Brian Billick.
Law was a lot like Bailey - a rock at the corner who quarterbacks avoided. He finished with 53 interceptions and three Super Bowl rings, all with the Patriots. When New England beat the Rams for its first NFL title in 2002, Law returned a pick 47 yards for a score that gave the Patriots the lead in the second quarter; they didn't trail after that.
Law was one of the many high-profile players head coach Bill Belichick was willing to cycle out, and his final five years were spent with Kansas City, Denver and two stints with the New York Jets, including 2005, when he made a career-high 10 interceptions.
"It's surreal to get this honor while my former team is playing," said Law, who will be on hand when the Patriots play the Rams for the title tonight.
Mawae, a second-round draft pick in 1994, played 16 seasons for the Seattle Seahawks, the Jets and the Titans. He made three All-Pro teams and joins Mike Webster, Dwight Stevenson and Jim Otto among the few true centers in Canton.
He earned a spot some thought might go instead to Jacksonville Jaguars left tackle Tony Boselli. But Boselli, Edgerrin James, John Lynch, Richard Seymour and six others will have to wait until next year.
Bowlen goes in after what some believe was a longer-than-necessary wait. He is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which has put the future of the Broncos' franchise on uncertain ground.
His youngest daughter, Annabel, said they face-timed their dad when the family received the news.
"A lot of tears in the room," she said.
Bowlen was key in securing the NFL's future via a number of multibillion-dollar TV contracts. The Broncos have largely prospered during his tenure, winning more than 60 percent of their games. That included Super Bowl XXXII in January 1998, when the owner famously shouted "This one's for John" - a tribute to quarterback John Elway, now a Broncos executive, winning his first title.
Brandt spent 29 years with the Cowboys, where his keen eye for talent helped turn Dallas into "America's Team." He chose eight future Hall of Famers, including Troy Aikman, Bob Hayes, Bob Lilly and Roger Staubach. He employed computers for evaluating talent and came up with psychological tests for draft prospects, two tools no NFL team could do without in the modern game.
Brandt also was elected for his role as the NFL's resident draft guru.
Robinson was chosen by the Dallas Texans in the first AFL draft. The Texans became the Chiefs, and the Chiefs became Super Bowl champions. A teammate of his, Hall of Fame linebacker Willie Lanier, said Robinson was the key to a defense that helped Kansas City to two AFL titles, each of which landed the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.