Eli Manning will have to continue to wait for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Athletic is reporting that Manning has fallen short of garnering enough support to be voted in for the second consecutive year.
Manning was one of 15 modern-era finalists for the second consecutive year, but once again did not make the cut.
According to the Hall of Fame selection process, a maximum of five and a minimum of three modern-era players like Manning can be voted in each year. Enshrinees must received 80% of the vote to be part of that year’s Hall of Fame class.
I have argued for years that Manning is a Hall of Famer based on his postseason accomplishments. Many on the Hall of Fame voting committee obviously disagree. Here is how Ian O’Connor and Dan Duggan of The Athletic made the case for Manning:
Manning’s combination of postseason success and career production is expected to eventually earn him entry into the exclusive club. Manning is one of six players with multiple Super Bowl MVPs. The three Hall of Fame-eligible players from that group (Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw and Bart Starr) were all first-ballot inductees. The other two players in that rarified class (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes) will likely be unanimous selections the moment they’re eligible for induction. …
The main strike against Manning’s candidacy is that he was never viewed as a top quarterback in a golden era at the position. He was never an All-Pro and only made four Pro Bowls. He finished his career with a .500 record as a starter (117-117) and led the NFL in interceptions three times.
I wrote back in November that Manning would not be elected to the Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Not even Philip Rivers’ unlikely return to the playing field was able to change that.
Here is something I wrote about Manning’s Hall of Fame candidacy back in 2024. I still believe it. Always will.
I think those two moments in time when Manning was the tallest of the Giants as they stood between the greatest dynasty of the 21st century and even more glory, including a perfect season, supercede everything else.
I have, honestly, always believed the Manning-Tom Coughlin quarterback-coach duo should have won even more Super Bowl titles. They may well have had Plaxico Burress not shot himself in the leg in 2008, destroying what many believe was the best team of the Manning-Coughlin era.
I think that in 2012 or 2013 believing Manning would be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, would not have drawn much argument. The back half of his career, though, damaged that perception.
The other thing I have always believed, though, is that the Giants let Manning down by not surrounding him with the talent needed to compete for more championships after that 2011 season. Somewhere along the way the Giants stopped giving Coughlin the kind of players he wanted, and Manning the kind of players he needed.
I also, though, understand that there are many out there who can’t get past the bad seasons. Can’t get past the 117-117 regular season record. Can’t get past the awkward Manning Face when things went wrong. I think those people are not seeing the forest for the trees, but it’s like politics. No matter what facts you present people to make your case, some folks are dug in aren’t going to budge in their belief no matter what.
Something else I truly believe is that the Hall of Fame selection process is broken. I think Manning’s candidacy, and the snub of eight-time Super Bowl-winning coach Bill Belichick, are all the evidence of that you need. I don’t know how to fix it, but something needs to change.
I have always been a believer that you are either a Hall of Famer or you aren’t. Manning, to me, clearly is one. So, too, is Belichick.
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