Luke Kuechly makes feelings clear after shocking first-ballot Hall of Fame snub

Luke Kuechly had hopes of becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but they were squashed when the 2025 class was revealed. Only four names were inducted into the hall, and the former Carolina Panthers did not make the cut.

Entering the Hall of Fame is always an exciting moment for any player who has ever stepped foot into an NFL field, and missing the first ballot does not mean that he'll not make it into the select group later. However, many fans believed that Kuechly deserved not to wait any longer.

However, the former Panthers linebacker, who played from 2012 to 2019, does not seem concerned with missing the initial opportunity:

You look at that class, and I've talked about it, I got to play with Jared Allen. That was super cool for me. When you when you grow up playing football, you're always thinking of the guys that you'd love to play with... And then Antonio Gates was a guy that I grew up watching him, and then Sterling Sharpe, and all those guys, they just deserve to be in there. It's less about "Oh, hey, you didn't get in". It's more about "Look at the guys that did get in, they deserve it".

Why did Luke Kuechly retire so early from the NFL?

The Panthers linebacker had one of the most successful careers in the history of the NFL. He made the All-Pro in every year that he was in the league, except in 2012, his initial season. Even though he did not earn this specific recognition, he was still named the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

He was also named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, and was a key part of the Panthers' roster during the 2015 season, when they put together a 15-1 record and made it to Super Bowl 50, losing to the Denver Broncos.

However, in his eight years of playing, Kuechly suffered multiple concussions that led him to an early retirement from the league. He had plenty of football left on him, as the 2019 season ended with another All-Pro appearance, but his long-term health was prioritized.