Former Panthers star Luke Kuechly makes his feelings known about Deion Sanders supporting him after his 2025 HoF snub

Luke Kuechly might have been the biggest surprise of this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class — not because he made it in as a first-ballot honoree, but because he didn't. The former Carolina Panthers standout linebacker, regarded as one of the best in NFL history, was not included in this year's four-player class.

Kuechly discussed the snub on FanDuel's "Up & Adams Show" with Kay Adams. He was supported by legends such as Deion Sanders but has taken a mature view on having to wait for enshrinement in Canton.

"No, just a lot of people saying, 'Hey, you know, I'm sorry it didn't work out,'" Kuechly said. "I'm like, 'Guys, it's fine.' ... I think, you know, you showed the clip of Maxx Crosby. He said it best — 'I wanna win a Super Bowl and I wanna go into the Hall of Fame.'"

"So, yeah, it would be awesome, and your time will come if it comes. Whatever's gonna happen's gonna happen."

Comments begin at 2:03

Luke Kuechly said he knew "a week or so beforehand" that he wouldn’t be enshrined this year.

What Luke Kuechly thinks of this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class

Luke Kuechly will watch the quartet of Eric Allen, Antonio Gates, Sterling Sharpe and Jared Allen make their speeches and unveil their busts this summer — and he's okay with that.

"Jared Allen is a guy that I'd never had a chance to play with," Kuechly said. "'I'd always watched him from afar. You kinda knew his last year was gonna be in Chicago, and then we traded for him ... in 2015, the Super Bowl year. That was awesome to get to play with him."

Kuechly recalled his experiences as a teammate of Allen’s, including stories from the training room and team plane. The former Panthers linebacker also spoke about playing against Antonio Gates.

"It's less about, like, 'Oh, hey, you didn't get in,'" Kuechly said. "It's more about, like, 'Look at the guys that did get in that deserve it.'"

Luke Kuechly stands as one of the greatest tacklers in NFL history. Across all eight seasons of his career, he recorded over 100 tackles each year, including three seasons where he surpassed 150 tackles. He also became the first player in NFL history to reach 1,000 career tackles within his first eight seasons.

He took home NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2012, followed by NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2013 — becoming the youngest player ever to win the award. Kuechly was selected as a seven-time All-Pro (including five First-Team selections) and a seven-time Pro Bowler.