HOF Voter: Eli Manning Was Focus of 'Vigorous Discussion' During 2025 Deliberations

A great deal of debate was reportedly had among Pro Football Hall of Fame voters before deciding against making former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning a first-ballot Hall of Famer on Thursday.

Speaking to ESPN's Jordan Raanan, ESPN NFL reporter and Hall of Fame voter Sal Paolantonio said, "To me, Eli was absolutely a first-ballot guy. There was a vigorous discussion about his candidacy—he has a lot of support to get into Canton, hopefully sooner rather than later."

Tight end Antonio Gates, defensive end Jared Allen and cornerback Eric Allen were the only modern-era finalists elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Thursday, along with wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, who was a chosen among the pool of senior finalists.

Manning, 44, spent his entire 16-year NFL career with the Giants from 2004 to 2019. He started 234 of the 236 regular-season games he played in and never missed a game due to injury, making him one of the most durable players in league history.

The younger brother of Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning ranks 11th in NFL history in completions (4,895), passing yardage (57,023) and passing touchdowns (366), although he also threw the 12th-most interceptions with 244.

Manning also had a career regular-season record of just 117-117 with six playoff appearances, made the Pro Bowl four times, was never a First Team All-Pro and was never in the NFL MVP mix.

While those factors are undoubtedly what kept Manning out of the Hall of Fame on the first ballot, his legendary accomplishments can't be ignored. He is a two-time Super Bowl champion and two-time Super Bowl MVP, twice beating the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots.

One of his two Super Bowl wins over Brady and the Pats saw the G-Men shock the world by spoiling New England's perfect season.

Hall of Fame voter Gary Myers expressed his belief that Manning did more than enough to earn a Hall of Fame induction, saying:

"In the interest of full transparency, I voted for Eli Manning and spoke up for him at our meeting. I believe Manning beating the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl with two-minute drives and being named Super Bowl MVP each time, along with currently being 11th all time in touchdown passes and yardage, presents a convincing résumé.

"To get selected in the future, the voters must get past that Manning was never All-Pro or regular season MVP and realize he played when those spots were not so available playing in an era with Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees."

Myers also pointed out that Manning compares favorably to a couple of Hall of Fame quarterbacks in Dan Fouts and Warren Moon. Both Fouts and Moon were barely over .500 in their careers and never reached a Super Bowl, but both were first-ballot Hall of Famers.

Despite that strong case, Manning was eliminated when the finalists were whittled down from 15 to 10, which suggests he has some work ahead of him in terms of making it into the hallowed halls in Canton, Ohio.

In addition to several notable finalists from this year, including wide receivers Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne and Steve Smith, pass-rusher Terrell Suggs, linebacker Luke Kuechly and kicker Adam Vinatieri returning to the ballot next year, some big names will be part of next year's ballot for the first time.

That includes quarterback Drew Brees, wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, tight end Jason Witten, running back Frank Gore and quarterback Philip Rivers.

Brees and Fitzgerald feel like surefire first-ballot Hall of Famers, while Witten, Gore and Rivers will all have a shot as well.

It seems unlikely that a two-time Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP-winning quarterback bordering on the top 10 in most major statistical categories will be kept out for long, but Manning will have to wait at least one more year to don the gold jacket.