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Eli Manning Has Funny Reason for Wanting to Avoid Early Hall of Fame Induction

The Hall of Fame class of 2025 will be announced on Thursday.

Eva Geitheim

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning. / Danielle Parhizkaran/NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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One of the most heated debates in the NFL could come to an end next week if former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Manning, who retired following the 2019 season, is in his first year of eligibility to make the Hall of Fame, and was one of 15 modern-era finalists for the class of 2025.

Manning's candidacy for the Hall of Fame is one that has been heavily debated—especially since he retired. During an appearance on the Up & Adams Show on Friday, host Kay Adams asked Manning about the "bargument" over whether or not he should make the Hall of Fame coming to an end. In response, Manning joked after that maybe he shouldn't enter the Hall of Fame yet to keep the argument going.

"Maybe I like the attention," Manning joked to Adams. "Maybe I want to extend this a few more years, it keeps me in the news, keeps me relevant if they have this debate. Hopefully I can prolong this for years and years and years so it gives people things to talk about."

The main case for Manning to make the Hall of Fame is his playoff performances, particularly in the Super Bowl. Manning and the Giants took down the New England Patriots twice in the Super Bowl, and Manning was the Super Bowl MVP for both of those victories.

Outside of those Super Bowl wins and playoff run, Manning's Hall of Fame resume is lacking what many other Hall of Fame quarterbacks possess. Manning was never a first or second team All-Pro, NFL MVP, or Offensive Player of the Year. He did not lead the NFL in passing yards or touchdowns, and was rarely, if ever, considered a top-five quarterback in the NFL during any season of his career. Over 14 seasons as the Giants' full-time starting quarterback, Manning led them to the postseason just six times and had record of 117-117 as a starter.

Regardless of whether or not Manning gets the nod for the Hall of Fame, he is not stressing over the possibility. "It's an honor to be included, it's an honor to be talked about, to make it to the 15," Manning said to Adams. "It's one of those things, you can't control it, so why worry about it? One way or the other, I'm not going to lose sleep over this next week... It's not going to change my thoughts around the NFL, my thoughts about my playing career."

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Eva Geitheim
EVA GEITHEIM

Eva Geitheim is a contributor to the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in December 2024, she wrote for Newsweek, Gymnastics Now and Dodgers Nation. A Bay Area native, she has a bachelor's in communications from UCLA. When not writing, she can be found baking or re-watching Gilmore Girls.

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