The lousy year for New York Giants fans continued with the news that retired quarterback and franchise legend Eli Manning was denied entry into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

Manning didn’t even make the final seven, a group that was eventually whittled down to four (including one legacy player, Sterling Sharpe). 

And as expected, there has been a raging debate about why Manning’s credentials, which are far sturdier than some of the other quarterbacks already enshrined in Canton, weren’t good enough to warrant a gold jacket.

Manning has two Super Bowls and MVP awards to go with them, making him one of six players in NFL history to have two Super Bowl MVP awards. He had 42 career game-winning drives and was 10-4 in overtime games, making him one of the most clutch performers of his time.

And the man never missed a game due to injury. His only regular-season absence came about because his head coach at the time, Ben McAdoo, desperate to save his job, decided he wanted a more mobile quarterback in the lineup.

But to his critics, there is Eli’s .500 regular-season record (117-117), an argument that is perhaps the weakest of the sauces out there, considering it’s a team sport, and not every win, just like not every loss, is a direct result of the quarterback’s play.

He also never led the league in any passing categories–except for interceptions when he led the league three times and posted 244 interceptions, more than any player since 2004. 

But the interception argument is yet another “weak sauce,” as not every interception is necessarily the quarterback's fault–it could be due to a receiver running a wrong route, a pass deflection, or simply a good play by the defender.

The lone legitimate arguments against Manning include a lack of MVP honors and finishing as the league passing yardage and/or touchdown leader. However, the league MVP award is not easy to win unless a quarterback is usually among the leaders in the major positive stats and plays on a powerhouse team.

That said, Manning had enough credentials to make it to the 15 finalists, so to say that he never stood a realistic chance wouldn’t do him justice.

Ira Kaufman, one of the voters who broke the news of Manning’s rejection to Mad Dog Radio before the NFL Honors program, opined that while Manning isn’t good enough to get in this year, he will likely get in at some point.

But that raises a couple of questions.

First, it’s not as though Manning can do anything to improve his credentials as they stand today. If they weren’t viewed as good enough among the peers he played with during his career, then why would that change down the line, especially as new candidates are added to the pool?

And that brings us to the second point. The competition for one of the coveted spots in Canton will only increase over the next few years, especially at the quarterback position. 

Drew Brees and Philip Rivers are both eligible next year. Ben Roethlisberger is eligible in 2027, and Tom Brady, who is sure to be a slam dunk first-ballot inductee, is eligible in 2028. And if Aaron Rodgers calls it a career, he will be eligible in 2030.

Of those candidates, one would think Rivers, who has no postseason accomplishments to speak of but who had twice as many Pro Bowls as Manning, was the passing yardage leader in 2010 and was the co-passing touchdowns leader in 2008, might fall short given his lack of postseason credentials.

Brees has one Super Bowl title and an MVP to his name. He is also a two-time Offensive Player of the Year, the 2004 NFL Comeback Player of the Year, a four-time second-team All-Pro, a thirteen-time Pro Bowler, a seven-time NFL passing yards leader, and a four-time passing touchdown leader. That makes his credentials far more impressive on the surface than Manning’s. 

Roethlisberger, like Manning, is a two-time Super Bowl champion, minus the MVP awards to go along with it. He was also named the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2004, beating out Manning and Rivers, who were also part of that draft class. 

And Roethlisberger, whom the Giants would have sought to draft in 2004 had they not been able to work out the trade with the San Diego Chargers to acquire Manning, twice finished as the NFL passing yardage leader in 2014 and 2018.

Brady is Brady, though if you’re looking for a strike against his record, he did lose two Super Bowls to Manning and the Giants. Still, of all the upcoming quarterbacks up for discussion, it wouldn’t be surprising if the discussion about Brady’s candidacy is short-lived and unanimous.

Rodgers is the holder of one Super Bowl championship and one MVP award to go with it. But he’s also a 4x MVP, a 4x First-team ALl-Pro, a 10x Pro Bowler, a 2x NFL passing touchdown leader, the AP Athlete of the Year (2011), and a member of the NFL’s 2010 All-Decade Team.

That’s a lot of competition for Manning to face in the coming years.  But for Manning, who faced a lot of competition over his career, don't expect him to bat an eye or spend an ounce of worry over anything beyond his control. 

If there is a silver lining from this situation, it’s that maybe when Manning does get in–and it’/s hard to envision him not getting in at some point–he’ll enter the same year as head coach Tom Coughlin, which would make the wait for football immortality worth it.