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Soon enough, the 50 voters who make up the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will meet via Zoom and they will have at it, as far as sorting through the 15 modern-era finalists eligible for enshrinement in Canton.
One of the five players on the ballot for the first time is Eli Manning. Sure thing? Surely, not.
Based on conversations with several voters, the former Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion is far from a slam dunk to get in this year. The expectation is that the discussion about his candidacy could be polarizing and contain, in the estimation of one member of the selection committee, “some fireworks” — as those who are strongly opposed to Manning getting in his first year on the ballot air their grievances.
There is statistical data to support Manning’s case, but also plenty of eye-test evidence, and a lack of honors and awards that hurt his case. His greatest claim to fame, of course, is the rare achievement of multiple Super Bowl MVPs — awards he garnered after the 2007 and 2011 seasons, as the Giants twice in four years upset Tom Brady and the Patriots en route to adding two Lombardi Trophies to their glass-enclosed case at the team facility. Without those two playoff runs and Super Bowl heroics, Manning, despite his longevity and career passing numbers, does not get within hailing distance of the Hall of Fame.
Of course, quarterbacks are often judged on championships and Manning has two of them — one coming in a titanic upset against an undefeated Patriots squad considered one of the best teams of all time.
“Eli Manning is a Hall of Fame quarterback, and in my view he’s a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback,” Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, a Hall of Fame voter for the past 12 years, told The Post. “I think what puts him in that category is the two Super Bowl MVPs. The fact that Eli won his two Super Bowls against the Patriots dynasty I think is important.
“I haven’t talked to that many people about it. I like to try to go in with a completely open mind and listen to people’s arguments and have an open mind about the discussion. I only know what my opinion is based on, what I see as the facts. I’m going to make that argument in the committee. I plan on supporting Eli Manning’s candidacy wholeheartedly.”
Every voter contacted by The Post stressed he will have an open mind and listen to the presentation — which will be done by Bob Glauber, former Newsday NFL columnist and the Giants’ representative on the committee — and partake in the ensuing discussion. Clearly, though, there is a disparate view of Manning as a candidate and especially his worthiness to get in on the first try.
“I am a strong advocate of first-ballot guys,” said voter Rick Gosselin, retired NFL columnist from the Dallas Morning News. “I’m probably the extreme. I think there may have been 15 to 20 first-ballot Hall of Famers in the history of the game. We’re talking Jim Brown, [Johnny] Unitas, [Dick] Butkus, Lawrence Taylor, Jerry Rice, Deacon Jones, Reggie White. We’re talking a very small number of players who should be given first-ballot honors. All Hall of Famers are not built the same. Curtis Martin was not Barry Sanders. Both have the gold jacket and both have the bust, but Curtis Martin was not Barry Sanders. I do believe the Barry Sanderses, the Walter Paytons, those guys are a cut above.
“I feel strongly that there are first-ballot Hall of Famers and then there are Hall of Famers. When I presented Emmitt Smith I got up and said, ‘Emmitt Smith carried the ball more times for more yards and more touchdowns than any player in NFL history. Any questions?’ That was my presentation. I believe there are the greatest of the greats, and there are the greats.”
All Gosselin would say specifically about Manning’s candidacy is this: “Eli Manning made the biggest throws of his life to win the biggest games of his life.”
The list of 15 modern-era candidates will be pared to 10, then seven, then each player will need to receive at least 80 percent of the vote to get inducted. If no player reaches 80 percent, the top three vote-getters will gain election. There could be three, four or five modern-era players to gain election.
The five first-time finalists are Manning, linebacker Luke Kuechly, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, offensive lineman Marshal Yanda and kicker Adam Vinatieri. The other finalists are cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen, offensive tackle Willie Anderson, guard Jahri Evans, tight end Antonio Gates, wide receiver Torry Holt, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., running back Fred Taylor, wide receiver Reggie Wayne and safety Darren Woodson.
The 2025 Hall of Fame class will be announced Feb. 6.
“I honestly don’t know how that room is going to be when the conversation happens,” Glauber said. “Listen, Eli Manning is not the kind of player that you walk into that meeting and say, ‘Eli Manning, thank you very much,’ and drop the mike.”
Manning’s 57,023 passing yards and 366 passing touchdowns remain in the top-10 all-time. His consecutive game streak of 210 is tied for 10th longest.
Judged solely as a regular-season quarterback, Manning does not make the grade as a Hall of Famer. His career record is 117-117. His career passer rating of 84.1 is just 60th all-time. He was named to just four Pro Bowls in his 16 seasons, was never named an All-Pro, never received a vote for the MVP award and was never a consideration for an All-Decade team.
One voter called those regular-season credentials “pedestrian.” Another voter said, unlike Gosselin, he does not put any stock in the exclusivity of first-ballot entry into the Hall, insisting first-timers should not be treated any differently than someone who has been on the ballot for a few years. That voter did admit that Manning is “a special case” because he probably was never a top-five quarterback on a season-to-season basis, but there are those two Super Bowl runs that must be appreciated.
Manning is one of just 13 quarterbacks with two Super Bowl championships, and seven of them are already enshrined. Manning is one of only six quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl MVPs. Joe Montana, Bart Starr and Terry Bradshaw are already in the Hall of Fame, and Brady and Patrick Mahomes will be enshrined as soon as they are eligible.
That leaves Manning.
“I don’t want to be the outlier right there,” Manning told The Post.
Will he be the outlier right there?
“He’s not Tom Brady and he’s not Peyton Manning, but the Hall of Fame is not made up exclusively of those kinds of players,” Glauber said. “That’s why I think it will be an extended debate. When you judge Eli Manning in this particular class, he is one of the top five players. The achievements are there.
“You cannot tell the story of the NFL without Eli Manning. Period. [The Super Bowl for the 2007 season] is comparable in terms of the football aspect to Super Bowl III when [Joe] Namath etched his name in history. The guy beat the best team, the best coach and the best quarterback in pro football history twice. Period.”
It should help Manning that there are no other quarterbacks among the finalists. If he does not get in this year, though, things could get tricky. Drew Brees and Philip Rivers are eligible in 2026, Ben Roethlisberger is eligible in 2027, and Brady will be eligible and thus inducted in 2028. Aaron Rodgers will be elected five years after he retires. More than one quarterback can be inducted in the same year, but it often is difficult to be the second one under consideration when there are direct comparisons to be made.
Paolantonio said when he was on the centennial Hall of Fame committee, he recalls committee-member Bill Belichick stating his criteria for putting someone in Canton: How did they perform against the best competition in critical situations in championship moments?
“I wrote it down, I kept it because I think it’s very important,” Paolantonio said. “I put a high amount of weight on Super Bowl championships — I mean, that’s what you play for — and Belichick made it very clear. Eli has been perfect. I think two Super Bowl MVPs puts him in a pretty lofty status.”
Calvin Watkins of the Dallas Morning News, a Hall of Fame voter based on his position as the president of the Pro Football Writers Association, predicts the discussion will be “very spirited,” because he already senses where some voters are leaning.
“There are some people that just say, ‘No, I don’t like him,’ and I think that’s wrong,” Watkins said. “I would say, if I had to handicap it, I don’t think he’s going to get in. I think he’ll get in, but I don’t think he’ll get in on this round. Not right now.”
Glauber, who will make the case for Manning to the committee, said his candidate “checks the boxes, as far as I’m concerned.” Another voter maintains, “There’s a lot of empty boxes under Eli.”
Let the debate commence.
