Retired NY Giants QB Eli Manning Projected as Snub for Next Five Hall of Fame Classes

A Hall of Fame projection covering the next five years doesn’t paint a rosy picture for retired New York Giants legend Eli Manning.

Getting into the Pro Football Hall of Fame may require another improbable upset for Manning: projecting the following five Canton classes for SI.com, analyst Matt Verderame excluded Manning, the two-time Super Bowl champion and MVP who guided Big Blue to its most recent bout of championship glory.

"Manning won two Super Bowls, including Super Bowl XLII, when he and the Giants stunned the undefeated Patriots," Verderame said.

"Still, his credentials are borderline, with only four Pro Bowls and zero All-Pro teams in 16 seasons. In 2025, Manning was one of 15 finalists but didn’t make it to the round of 10, showing that while he’s on the radar, he’s not particularly close."

Perhaps sensing the blue firestorm heading his way upon rejection of Manning, Verderame argued that the new voting process, which sees a 50-person selection committee whittle down the candidates from 15 to 10 to five, might not work in Manning's favor.

Next year's ballot, for example, includes first-time entrants Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, and Jason Witten, all of whom carry what's likely an inevitable case for eventual induction.

Still, one of them may face a wait of some kind, as Verderame's prediction features Brees and Fitzgerald joined by Bill Belichick, Ralph Hay, and Luke Kuechly.

Things get particularly murky in 2028, when JJ Watt and Tom Brady—the latter best-known in Giants lore as the victim of Manning's finest metropolitan hours in the 42nd and 46th editions of the Super Bowl—are on the ballot, leaving two candidates that are not only first-time showers but unanimous winners as well.

Under the current system, that, Verderame explains, leaves 150 votes for five candidates, who need at least 40 nods to earn the Canton invite.

"With so many terrific candidates coming up as potential first- or second-ballot Hall of Famers in the next five years, Manning could be squeezed by the voting situation," Verderame theorized.

Verderame does leave a glimmer of hope in the 2030 election, which features a relatively light first-ballot cast headline by former Dallas Cowboys offensive staple Zack Martin: If Martin does not get the nod on his first time around, Verderame hypothesizes, Manning could "perhaps" sneak in.

Manning's Hall of Fame case will continue to be a contentious talking point in the tri-state area and beyond, one where his championship accomplishments do most of the talking.

As it stands, Manning is one of two Hall of Fame-eligible quarterbacks with two Super Bowl rings not to be feted in Ohio, the other being Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders champ Jim Plunkett.

Additionally, Manning is also the only eligible two-time Super Bowl MVP, a brotherhood that includes the inevitable entrants Brady and Patrick Mahomes, to be denied the invitation.

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