Eli Manning will learn his Pro Football Hall of Fame first-ballot fate Thursday night
GIants quarterback Eli Manning holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Feb. 5, 2012. Credit: newsday/Thomas A. Ferrara
NEW ORLEANS — Eli Manning is undeniably famous. The many pictures of him plastered throughout this Super Bowl city on the sides of buildings and trolleys and hanging in restaurants and casinos — not to mention his family’s eponymous sports bar — serve as constant reminders of his elite status of stardom here in his hometown, as well as in the wider sport of football.
But there is another level of stardom Manning may be on the verge of achieving.
On Thursday night we’ll find out if he is Hall of Fame famous.
That’s when the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce its Class of 2025 during the NFL Honors show. Manning, who quarterbacked the Giants to two Super Bowl victories and won MVP of both games, is one of the 15 modern era finalists for enshrinement in his first year of eligibility. Up to five players will get through the process and be on to Canton.
Despite his esteemed place in New York sports history and flourishing second careers as a pitch man, broadcaster and Pro Bowl Games coach (he’s 3-0!) his candidacy for the Hall of Fame is far from a sure thing. Manning was part of two thrilling championship runs filled with some of the most memorable plays the Super Bowl has ever seen and he ranks 11th all-time in passing yards (57,023) and touchdown passes (366). That is certainly a Canton-worthy resume. But Manning also has a .500 career record as a starter (117-117), was a Pro Bowler in just four of his 16 NFL seasons, and never received a vote for MVP, which may dissuade some voters from putting him in on his first ballot.
“There is nothing I can do to put myself in a better position to make it or not,” Manning said last week. “If it does happen, it’ll be a great honor, and if it doesn’t, it’s not going to ruin my weekend or ruin my year.”
There are plenty who believe Manning will get tapped for this immortality, including one who was on the losing end of two of Manning’s most glorious moments.
During an appearance on ESPN’s ManningCast in January former Patriots coach Bill Belichick ribbed Manning for wearing a cutoff sweatshirt in a look the coach had made famous.
“Eli, you don’t look good in a hoodie,” Belichick said. “But you will look great in a gold jacket. I’m sure that’s going to happen and you deserve it so much.”
On Thursday we’ll see if the compliment and the jacket fit.
Slayton honored
Giants WR Darius Slayton was named this year’s NFLPA Alan Page Community Award winner on Wednesday. The union will donate $100,000 to Slayton’s Left-Hand Right-Hand Foundation. “Winning this award means more than words can describe,” Slayton said. “The main goal for me and my family has always been to be able to give back to the people in our communities.” Slayton is also the Giants’ nominee for the NFL’s Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which will be presented on Thursday night
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
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