Bill Belichick isn’t the only NFL legend who will apparently be waiting at least another year for his election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who famously engineered two upsets of Belichick’s dynastic Patriots in Super Bowls 42 and 46, also failed to make the cut for 2026, according to The Athletic. This was Belichick’s first year of eligibility and Manning’s second.
Manning is one of six players ever to be named Super Bowl MVP multiple times. He’s the only one eligible for the Hall who hasn’t been inducted − and it stands to reason that Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes will waltz into Canton.
It seems Manning’s overall résumé is holding him back.
He was a four-time Pro Bowler in 16 NFL seasons, a modest number given his longevity. His brother, Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, was a five-time league MVP by comparison. Eli Manning’s regular-season record of 117-117 is the definition of average.
Eli Manning ranks 11th in league history in both passing yards (57,023) and TDs (366), and perhaps should get more credit for those numbers given he played so many games in the often adverse and windy conditions endemic to the New Jersey Meadowlands, where the Giants play their home games. However 244 career interceptions, a 60.3% completion rate and 84.1 passer rating don’t amplify his cause.
The No. 1 overall pick of the 2004 draft by the San Diego Chargers, Manning never intended to play for the Bolts − and didn’t, his rights traded to the Giants on draft day in a deal that sent Philip Rivers’ rights and a package of picks (including a 2005 first-rounder eventually used on Shawne Merriman) to the Chargers.
‘I’m excited for those guys that got in,’ Manning said on NFL Network after getting bypassed last year. ‘All of them are so deserving. I’m happy for them.
‘I’m totally at peace. It’s not going to change my outlook on my career and how I feel about it.’
Hopefully that’s true for at least one more year.
