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Philip Rivers Had Surprising Take on How Hall of Fame Status Factored in on Return

Rivers is a semifinalist for the Hall of Fame this upcoming year, but his progress will be reset if he is elevated to the Colts’ active roster.

Madison Williams

Colts quarterback Philip Rivers’s Hall of Fame eligibility is at risk of being reset if he is elevated to the active roster.
Colts quarterback Philip Rivers’s Hall of Fame eligibility is at risk of being reset if he is elevated to the active roster. / Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Philip Rivers coming out of retirement to sign with the Colts surprised NFL fans for many reasons—one, of course, being the fact that Rivers is 44 and hasn’t played since the 2020 season.

Another reason why this decision was shocking is that Rivers is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. If he is elevated to the active roster and takes a single snap with the Colts, then his Hall of Fame eligibility will reset back to five more years.

In his introductory press conference in Indianapolis on Wednesday, the quarterback was asked if his Hall of Fame eligibility was a factor in his decision to unretire. He was pretty candid about his thoughts on his probability of making the Hall of Fame.

“It’s a real honor to be mentioned with those other 25 guys certainly, but, you know, I’m not holding my breath on that,” Rivers said. “I hadn’t been counting down the years, with all respect to the Hall. If one day, I can be a part of that group, it will be special, no question about it. But, the extension of that time if that comes to be was not a factor in my thinking.”

It sounds like the Hall of Fame is not at the top of Rivers’s priority list. Although Rivers fully thought he was done with playing football, the Colts gave him the opportunity of a lifetime on Monday ,that he couldn’t pass up. Now we’ll see what happens with Indianapolis this weekend as rookie Riley Leonard is still expected to start vs. the Seahawks.

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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.

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