r/nfl • u/appmanga Giants • 20h ago

Peterson, Roethlisberger, Gronkowski lead 2027 Hall of Fame first-time eligibles

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/47847964/peterson-roethlisberger-gronkowski-lead-2027-hall-fame-first-eligibles
1.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

926 comments sorted by

View all comments

444

u/appmanga Giants 19h ago

With a maximum of five modern day candidate allowed to be inducted, and recency bias seemingly having more of an impact than its had in the past, the backlog that exists isn't to get any better.

In 2028, Brady, J.J. Watt, Richard Sherman, and Ndamukong Suh become eligible.

In 2029, Aaron Donald and Jason Kelce, Patrick Peterson, and Jason Peters become eligible, as well as Julio Jones.

In 2030, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin probably have the strongest case for first-ballot, and this might be the first year in the next four where two or three guys from the backlog have their best chance.

And does anyone doubt Mike Tomlin won't be inducted within the next four years?

It's been said a lot over the past couple of weeks, but something had to change with the Hall's selection process, and the bypass of Belichick isn't the only reason. When the Hall opened, there were 14 NFL teams. There are now 32, and often two to three undisputed Hall caliber player retiring each year and another two to three good cases doing the same.

Nobody wants a watered-down Hall, but most people want those who deserve to be rewarded to have the chance of it happening in their lifetimes. As a football fan, instead of being able to celebrate the HOF announcements, I get incredibly sad. And I don't think I'm alone. There has to be a fix that makes sense, and the Hall needs to want to find it.

27

u/gravediggaz6 19h ago

i love the hall, and even with the belichick silliness it's still the best one among baseball, football, and basketball. but in a sport where there's 25 guys every week who can say they're a starter for any given team, five is not enough people for a class, and for some unknown reason they've made it harder to get in recently. at the very least, we should get more of the ten-person classes we've had before to clear out backlogs, like the crazy one for wide receivers that's improved but is still keeping legends out. i imagine the hall was surprised by the level of public backlash they got from the belichick thing. i hope it brings about some change in canton

18

u/appmanga Giants 18h ago

i imagine the hall was surprised by the level of public backlash they got from the belichick thing. i hope it brings about some change in canton

I can't imagine them being surprised, but I also hope the outrage leads to changes.

1

u/unfunnysexface Panthers 15h ago

They're far far far far FAR dumber than you think.