Numerous members of the NFL community were shocked to learn on Thursday night that New York Giants legend Eli Manning was not elected as a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame member this year. 

Sportswriters and Hall of Fame voters reacted to the Manning snub for a piece produced by ESPN's Jordan Raanan that was published on Friday. 

"In the interest of full transparency, I voted for Eli Manning and spoke up for him at our meeting," Hall of Fame voter Gary Myers told Raanan. "I believe Manning beating the Patriots twice in the Super Bowl with two-minute drives and being named Super Bowl MVP each time, along with currently being 11th all-time in touchdown passes and yardage, presents a convincing resume." 

Writers, analysts, Giants fans and Manning's old teammates have argued for years that his playoff accomplishments — which include beating what was an unbeaten New England team in Super Bowl XLII and retiring as a two-time Super Bowl MVP — should've been enough to earn him a spot in this year's Hall of Fame class. Additionally, Manning holds just about every significant career passing record in the history of the century-old Giants and is arguably the greatest offensive player to ever feature for that franchise. 

However, he also was a .500 regular-season quarterback with a 117-117 career record who earned only four Pro Bowl nods. Manning was never considered the best player at the sport's most important position for even a single season, and he was never a first-team All-Pro selection. 

"Eli's record was just .500, but Dan Fouts was only two games over .500 and Warren Moon was only one game over .500 — but neither made it to the Super Bowl. In fact, Moon never made it to a conference championship game. Fouts and Moon were each first-ballot Hall of Famers," Myers noted. 

Darryl Slater of NJ Advance Media for NJ.com is among those who have mentioned that Manning will face stiff competition as it pertains to just 2025 and 2026 candidates to be part of next year's class. Linebacker Luke Kuechly, wide receiver Steve Smith, quarterback Drew Brees and receiver Larry Fitzgerald are some of the players who presumably could receive votes over Manning. 

Cleveland Browns reporter Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand revealed that "Manning was this year’s polarizing candidate" and that the two-time champion didn't make the first cut among the finalists for the 2025 class. 

"To me, Eli was absolutely a first-ballot guy," ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, another Hall of Fame voter, said. "There was a vigorous discussion about his candidacy — he has a lot of support to get into Canton, hopefully sooner rather than later."

Steve Serby of the New York Post believes "it's only a matter of time before Eli Manning is a Hall of Famer." Perhaps Manning's time will come next February.