Ole Miss Legend receives nomination for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Two-time Super Bowl winner and Ole Miss legend Eli Manning received some exciting news yesterday. He was announced as one of 16 first-year eligible Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees.

Manning was announced alongside defensive players Luke Kuechly and Terrell Suggs and kicker Adam Vinatieri, some of the first-time ballot names from the class of 2025.

Could Eli Manning be a First-Ballot Hall of Fame inductee?

It seems like there is a strong divide between the media, New York Giants fans, and the rest of the NFL fans regarding the question in the sub-title. A high percentage of the media and Giants fanbase will champion for Eli Manning to be inducted into the Pro Hall of Fame as a class of 2025, while the majority of other NFL fans believe he should not be.

It depends on the bar you believe a player or coach must pass to get in. Eli Manning has two Super Bowl rings, winning both against the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots dynasty at the time. He also won the MVP in both games and was a four-time Pro Bowler.

The argument is that outside those two Super Bowl-winning runs, Eli Manning has had a rollercoaster career, with ups but plenty of lows. Also, there is an argument about how reliable Pro Bowl selections are, but Manning has never had an All-Pro Bowl selection, and only four times did he make the Pro Bowl. He has also never had a regular-season MVP award.

We will see if he joins his brother Payton in the Pro Hall of Fame in 2025, but it will likely not happen in his first year. The expectation is that it will, but when is anybody's guess?