‘Maybe Next Year’ for Butler Hall of Fame Candidacy
GREEN BAY, Wis. – LeRoy Butler’s greatest leap will have to wait another year. Again.
The former Green Bay Packers defensive star announced on Twitter on Wednesday that he did not receive enough votes for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s the second consecutive year he’s fallen short.
“Next year hopefully will be the year,” he said in a text message.
Butler was in his 15th year of eligibility. Players are eligible for up to 20 years before moving to the seniors committee.
Before last year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame vote, only two members of the all-1990s team were not enshrined in Canton: Butler and former Denver Broncos safety Steve Atwater. With Atwater’s selection last year, Butler remains the last man without a bronze bust and gold jacket.
“I just like to be gracious whenever I win or lose,” Butler said last year from Miami after not getting the coveted knock on the hotel door by Hall of Fame President David Baker. “And I don’t necessarily look at it as losing, though. I know some of my fans might but I think it’s actually winning because there’s a good chance your case will be heard in the future and it will resonate with somebody. Sooner or later, I know I’ll be a Gold Jacket winner.”
By the numbers, it could be argued Butler should have been selected ahead of Atwater.
Atwater played from 1989 through 1999 while Butler played from 1990 through 2001. Having played 14 more games than Atwater, Butler won in sacks (20.5 to 5.0), forced fumbles (13 to 6) and interceptions (38 to 24). Atwater did have a big advantage in tackles (1,078 to 720).
The 15 modern-era finalists for the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021 included four first-year eligible players: defensive end Jared Allen, wide receiver Calvin Johnson, quarterback Peyton Manning and defensive back Charles Woodson. Two others — defensive back Ronde Barber and linebacker Clay Matthews Jr. — were first-time finalists who had been eligible previously. The others: offensive tackle Tony Boselli, guard Alan Faneca, receivers Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, linebackers Sam Mills and Zach Thomas, defensive lineman Richard Semyour, and safeties John Lynch and Butler.
Matthews, the father of former Packers star Clay Matthews III, is in his final year of eligibility.
The selection committee will elect up to five of those 15, so long as they receive at least 80 percent of the vote. Woodson, a former Packers star and a driving force behind the 2010 Super Bowl champions, is considered a slam-dunk selection.
