Eli Manning gives honest take on Hall of Fame snub - “I had a feeling”

Eli Manning's candidacy for the Hall of Fame has eclipsed the five years necessary to be considered for a bust in Canton, Ohio. However, Manning will need to wait at least one more year to get into the final frontier of NFL fame and fortune.

During the NFL Honors, several names were announced to be either finalists or selected for the Hall of Fame. Manning's name wasn't among them, even though he was present in New Orleans. Speaking on a February 7 edition of "Good Morning Football," Eli Manning gave his reaction to missing the cut to be a finalist.

Eli Manning: [00:00:35] "I'm excited for those guys that got that. All of them are so deserving and this is just a great, you know, happy, happy for them and texted a few of them, the guys that I knew, and just congratulated them. So I had a feeling it was not going to be my night. And I understand that. I'm totally at peace," he said.

"It [didn't change] my outlook of my career and how I feel about it. It was an honor to spend the night with a lot of my friends, high school buddies, college buddies, some NFL teammates of mine, my family. And we had a big night. We celebrated just being here, New Orleans, being home and had a wonderful time," he added. [00:01:08][33.2] GMFB

Eric Allen, Jared Allen, Antonio Gates, and Sterling Sharpe Sr. were announced to be the 2025 Hall of Fame class, per NFL media.

Exploring Eli Manning's Hall of Fame case to enter Canton

Eli Manning at Pro Bowl Championship-AFC at NFC - Source: Imagn

Manning didn't get into the Hall of Fame this year, but there could always be room for him down the line. He won't be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he could still join Peyton Manning in the future.

His case for a bust in Canton is still strong. The former New York Giants quarterback lives as the only starting quarterback to beat Tom Brady in two Super Bowls. He also logged five more playoff seasons.

Of course, detractors will point out that Manning won just three division titles in his career and finished exactly at .500. However, winning two Super Bowls and defeating Tom Brady in both of them plus surviving in a cutthroat league for 16 seasons should be enough to get him in eventually.

The question most likely is not if, but when, Manning will join his brother. Some players, like Sterling Sharpe, had to wait more than three decades. Will it take that long for Eli Manning?