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Throughout the early 2000s and nearly into 2020, Eli Manning was the starting quarterback for the New York Giants. And in the 14th Annual NFL Honors — where Josh Allen got named NFL MVP — the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 was revealed, leaving one famous quarterback off the list. That class consisted of Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates, and Sterling Sharpe, as Manning must wait at least one more year to hear his name called.
This was Manning’s first year of eligibility to earn his golden bust, though he wasn’t overly zealous on earning first-ballot honors.
The decision to keep Manning out of the 2025 class caused an online debate — of course — on whether he was deserving of being voted in.
Looking at his career statistics, there’s a debate on either side.
Eli Manning: 234 starts, 117-117 record, 60.3% completion (4,895/8,119), 57,023 passing yards, 366 TDs, 244 INTs, 315 rushing yards, 7 rushing TDs
When looking at his accolades, here’s where the youngest Manning brother gets a little bit more credit.
Manning ended his career with four Pro Bowl invites, won two Super Bowls, and was a two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Not to mention, both of Manning’s Super Bowl victories with the Giants came against Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
13 years ago today, Eli Manning led the @Giants on an EPIC drive to beat the Patriots in the Super Bowl again!
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/u2qeuwHThK
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) February 5, 2025
Had the Giants lost those Super Bowls, Brady could have nine rings. Nine!
In terms of how Manning ranks across the entirety of NFL history, he’s 11th in passing yards, 11th in passing touchdowns, and 12th in interceptions thrown.
So, although Giants fans might’ve thought Manning was a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Famer, they were clearly wrong.
And one social media user named Matt Sponhour — co-host of the Stay Hot podcast — gave his thoughts on the debate in a post on X, keeping it short and sweet.
“I mean Eli is nowhere close to 1st ballot,” Sponhour wrote.
On the internet, there’s an online tool that gauges whether a player has an argument to get inducted into the Hall of Fame is Pro Football Reference’s Hall of Fame Monitor.
In Manning’s case, his PFR HOF Monitor was just 86.01, whereas the average Hall of Fame quarterback’s score is 103.58.
While this tool isn’t foolproof, it’s a helpful way to see how certain players stack up against other players in the Hall of Fame.
However, following the announcement of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 — which didn’t include Eli Manning — here were some of the best reactions:
The Hall of Fame is the Hall of Fame. Not the Hall of Statistics.
Eli Manning is one of the most important individual figures in the history of the NFL and shares rare company in several statistics. ...
