Thursday night before Super Bowl Sunday is always a big one for the league. With NFL honors and the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame class being announced, fans all over are tuned in to watch some of the best players, past and present, come out on the same stage together.
For New York Giants fans, Thursday night was a chance to see one of the organization's all-time greats get voted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning was on the ballot for 2025 and, as has been the case his entire career, opinions were widely split going into the decision.
Ultimately, Manning was not voted into the Hall this year and missed the cut. Some fans were furious and quickly began making their arguments via social media. To be frank, Manning has a strong argument for why he belongs.
But, as a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee? That's a different story entirely. For fans upset by the decision, one particular insider offered his opinion on the matter.
Adam Schefter offers hope for Eli Manning as a Hall of Fame inductee
Asked if he was surprised that Manning did not get in, ESPN's Adam Schefter had this to say:
"No, because he was a polarizing pick. And there were people who felt very strongly that he was a Hall of Famer. And there were people that felt he wasn't. And when there's that much debate and that much division, inevitably, you're not going to get in on the first try."
That pretty much sums up the reality of what most Giants fans have come to after the decision. His career was as polarizing as any top-tier quarterback, and Manning is bound to get in eventually. Schefter does agree, there.
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"Eli Manning is going to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He is a Hall of Famer," Schefter said.
"When I was a voter, briefly, the one thing that people said is, 'can you write the history of the sport without this person?'"
"Eli Manning is a 2-time Super Bowl MVP who twice put down the Patriots and prevented them from having an undefeated season. You can't write the history of the sport, in recent years, without Eli Manning, which is why he's going to go," Schefter explained.
This is about as good an argument as you can make for a Hall of Fame player, but once again, it doesn't give too much clarity on whether or not he deserved to be first-ballot.
What we do know is, Manning will get in. Unfortunately it wasn't this year, but he will find himself in that gold jacket some day.