In the summer, seven talented athletes will be honoured by the league’s summer ceremony in Canton, Ohio. That has a lot of people wondering who will make the cut in 2025 out of the players around right now. Below are three shoo-ins for nomination, based on their career record and the fan buzz that surrounds them.
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The Hall of Fame
Getting into the Hall of Fame takes a lot. First, there are the rules. A player/coach needs to have been retired for at least five years before they can get the nod. To get nominated, they need to be the best in a sport where every yard is meticulously tracked. Then they need to exist in the public consciousness so that fans and pundits still remember them in five years.
The fan component cannot be understated. The best Hall of Famers are phenoms who ignite crowds and excite pundits while putting in a statistically backed performance. Buzz from betting crowds helps too – the best Hall of Famers are those who can tip the scales in an odds match-up. To make the odds more favourable, sportsbooks have been known to offer a sports betting bonus like bet boosts or the occasional free bet option. When the betting crowd places their wagers, they look for big names that carry games. It’s those same people who rack up the best metrics and, when it’s all over, get the well-deserved knock at the door.
Antonio Gates
Let’s start with Antonio Gates, tight end for the Chargers in both their San Diego and Los Angeles days. He’s a relatively recent retire, having given up his helmet in 2020, but even still he acts as an executive for the team. Gates’ reputation is only helped by the fact he’s one of the best undrafted free agents in NFL history. He came out of nowhere after playing basketball in college, not football, and then spent his entire career with the Chargers instead of shopping around.
By the stats, Gates is seventh in touchdown receptions at 116. That makes him the best tight end in the whole league, and one of the best players to ever grace the Chargers’ roster. He never made the Super Bowl, but has four All-Pro placements on the first team and eight appearances in the Pro Bowl, appearing non-stop between 2004 and 2011. He’s already enshrined in the Chargers’ own hall of fame, and now he’s eligible for the NFL’s hall too, making his inclusion in the 2025 nominations even more likely.
Eli Manning
Given how much press quarterbacks get, it can be tough to single one out. However, Eli Manning is a player destined to join his brother Peyton in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it’s just a matter of when. Known for leading the New York Giants between 2004 and 2019, Manning is a two-time champion and MVP for Super Bowls XLII and XLVI.
In recent years, Eli and his brother have taken over the Pro Bowl as competing head coaches, putting their sibling rivalry front and centre for the fans. Peyton got his Hall of Fame nod in 2021, and fans of Eli think his turn should be sooner rather than later. As for his numbers, he’s 10th of all-time for passing yards at 57,023, with nearly 5,000 passes complete. That said, his record is split at 117-117, so he hasn’t got the shiniest profile for a potential Hall of Famer.
Luke Kuechly
Lastly, we have Luke Kuechly for the Carolina Panthers. As a linebacker, Kuechly made history early as the youngest Defensive Player of the Year award, after getting the rookie equivalent for his first season. He spent his entire time with the Panthers, becoming a talent scout after his retirement in 2019. He made the All-Pro for each season he played, not counting his rookie showings, and even made the All-Decade team for the 2010s.
Kuechly’s career is shorter than others out there, and that may hold him back, but he’s one of the best-qualified linebackers that hasn’t received a nod yet. If a linebacker is selected for the 2025 Hall of Fame, it’s probably going to be Kuechly.
