Arguably the greatest quarterback in New York Giants history is not a Hall of Famer just yet.
Eli Manning was reportedly held out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s class of 2026, according to Dan Duggan and Ian O’Connor of The Athletic.
Manning, who the Giants acquired in a draft-day trade from the then-San Diego Chargers in 2004, is the team’s all-time in games played (233), passing yards (57,023) and passing touchdowns (366).
Despite his 117-117 career regular-season record, Manning twice earned Super Bowl MVP honors by guiding the Giants past the New England Patriots, first in Super Bowl XLII then in Super Bowl XLVI four years later.
Eli Manning Was Left Out Of The Hall of Fame In 2026
Manning last played in 2019 and retired in 2020 and is widely considered a Hall of Famer based on his two huge postseason runs.
Still, after reaching the final 15 players among the modern-era players that will be chosen for the second straight year, Manning was reportedly snubbed again — a day after former Giants Super Bowl-winning defensive coordinator and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick found out he was held out of Canton on Tuesday.
Manning was unlikely to be inducted on the first ballot in 2025, since he was never considered a top-five quarterback at any point in his career and led the NFL in interceptions three times.
But his failed candidacy in 2026, despite making it to the final round again, is disappointing for Giants fans.
Eli Manning Deserves To Be Enshrined In The Pro Football Hall of Fame
Naysayers love to point out Manning’s .500 record, polarizing play and inconsistency as marks against his Hall of Fame candidacy. They say he is only in contention due to his name recognition and longevity.
But Eli getting inducted into Canton seems inevitable.
Even though he was never among the ranks of Tom Brady, Drew Brees or his older brother Peyton Manning, Eli is a historically great quarterback from a numbers perspective.
Manning ranks 12th in NFL in games played among quarterbacks and is 11th in NFL history in passing yards, touchdowns and completions (4,895) — and ranked seventh in NFL history in TDs when he hung up his cleats. He is ahead of Warren Moon, John Elway and Joe Montana in each category, plus countless other Hall of Fame quarterbacks.
Manning was a four-time Pro Bowler, and of course won those two Super Bowl MVPs — which puts him on a list of six players to win multiple game MVPs in the 60-year history of the Super Bowl.
Plus, he earned those game accolades, rather than by default, which Peyton did in Super Bowl XLI. Eli, of course, engineered game-winning drives in the final minutes of the fourth quarter, first going 83 yards in 12 miraculous plays to unseat the 18-0 Patriots in 2007 before going 88 yards on nine plays four years later in Indianapolis to cement his legacy.
Of his eight career playoff wins, Manning had five game-winning drives, including both Super Bowl wins and both NFC Championship Game wins, which came on the road over the San Francisco 49ers and Green Bay Packers.
So Eli didn’t get in the Hall of Fame this year, but neither did Belichick. Both seem like veritable locks to get a bust in Canton before very long.
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