If you stripped away Eli Manning’s two (kinda miraculous) Super Bowl wins and the fact that he played with the New York Giants, you would not think his NFL career was anything close to Hall of Fame worthy. But any contrary thinking to Manning’s uninspiring resume (he didn’t even have a 2-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio! he averaged more than one turnover per game! he barely completed 60 percent of his passes in the easiest passing era ever!) is now probably moot.
On Wednesday, Manning was named one of 25 modern-era semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In fact, he was only one of six first-year eligible players named a semifinalist. That’s a key distinction, dearest readers.
Because according to pro football historian Jack Silverstein (@readjack.bsky.social on BlueSky), Manning is now basically a lock to one day enter the Hall of Fame based on his being a first-ballot semifinalist. Be it this year or somewhere down the line, Manning will soon get a bronze bust of his head.
Dread it. Run from it. Destiny still arrives for a middling quarterback who would have the same reputation as Joe Flacco if he didn’t play in the cultural capital of the United States:
Man, that’s honestly kind of wild to me. We need better standards for the Pro Football of Fame if Eli Manning really might be a first or second-ballot entry. That man was not that good. Far from it. Sigh.
Though, I suppose if someone lie Terry Bradshaw, of all people, is a Hall of Famer, then I guess Manning deserves it, too.
Dearest readers, we jumped this shark long ago.