NFL news, Jan. 10

Former Raiders receiver Tim Brown and former 49ers Charles Haley, Deion Sanders, Chris Doleman and Richard Dent were among the 15 finalists announced Sunday for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Brown, Haley and Dent are repeat finalists.

Others under consideration are running backs Curtis Martin, Jerome Bettis and Marshall Faulk; receivers Andre Reed and Cris Carter; center Dermontti Dawson; defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy; tackle Willie Roaf; tight end Shannon Sharpe; and filmmaker Ed Sabol.

Brown caught 1,070 passes and scored 103 touchdowns in 15 seasons with the Raiders. Haley, a five-time Pro Bowl defensive end, played his first six NFL seasons - as well as his last - with the 49ers and won Super Bowl rings with the 49ers in the 1988 and 1989 seasons and three more with the Cowboys in the '90s.

Sanders played only one season with San Francisco, the 1994 Super Bowl championship season. Dent, a defensive end, played two games with the 49ers in 1994 and is better known as a Chicago Bear. Doleman, a defensive end known primarily for his time with the Vikings, was with the 49ers from 1996 through '98.

Martin, Bettis and Faulk are among the NFL's top-10 all-time rushers and are eligible for the first time.

Finalists and senior nominees Les Richter, from Cal, and Chris Hanburger will be considered Feb. 5 for selection.

Prospective draftees: Georgia receiver A.J. Green and West Virginia safety Robert Sands say they plan to skip their senior college seasons and enter the NFL draft.

This article appeared on page B - 2 of the San Francisco Chronicle