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The original was posted on /r/nfl by /u/SkilledB on 2025-02-02 12:18:18+00:00.
As we are getting closer to the Hall of Fame selections that occur during Super Bowl Week, I thought it would be a good time to post some (to me, at least) interesting facts and stats about the Pro Football Hall of Fame. There has been a lot of discussion on this subreddit regarding who should be in the Hall of Fame and who shouldn’t be, and it feels like everyone has a different idea of what the cutoff should be. Some people prefer a small hall, with only the most elite of the elite getting inducted. I personally, find that almost everyone in the Hall now is very deserving of being in, leaving many players that “deserve” to get in over those already inducted waiting in the wings. With the changes to the bylaws of the Selection Committee, fewer players on average are expected to be inducted in the coming years. I do not necessarily agree with this, and the reason why can be seen in some of the facts and stats I have below. But without further ado, lets start:
The most simultaneous Hall of Famers playing in the NFL is 83, in 1971
Think about this the next time you consider someone is a Hall of Famer or not. In the interest of fairness, there should be a possibility of 83 current active players being eventual Hall of Famers. We know that will not be the case, especially with the changed by laws limiting number of selections, but it’s good to be aware of this fact regardless. This number includes 10 QBs, 6 RBs, 8 WRs, 4 TEs, 7 IOLs, 8 OTs, 6 IDLs, 6 DE/OLBs, 9 LBs, 10 CBs, 6 Safeties and George Blanda. This number may even grow from here, with legends of the game like Ken Anderson, Bob Kuechenberg, Dick Anderson, Jim Marshall, LC Greenwood and Bill Bergey having played during 1971 but not being inducted yet. (Also Jim Tyrer, a finalist this year).
There is a chasm of players selected that were active in 1985 - 1995
Logic would dicatate that the average number of players inducted would go up the further to the past we go. But there is a clear chasm in players selected during the 1980s. What is the reason for this? Is the Selection Committee biased against players that played in the USFL? Was football in the 1980s simply of that much lower quality than in the 1970s or late 1990s to warrant this? I can’t figure out a clear reason. But there are several deserving selections from this timeframe that, for some reason, have not gotten a look from the committee, including Roger Craig, Sterling Sharpe, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Albert Lewis, Karl Mecklenburg, Pat Swilling, Leonard Marshall and Everson Walls. Sterling Sharpe is among the finalists this year from this timeframe.
The average number of Hall of Famers on a Super Bowl winning team during 1966-2000 is 5.68
The timeframe is selected to reflect that all players that have retired have had the time to be considered by the primary selection committee before moving to the Senior Committee for consideration. The 1966-67 Packers and 1971-72 Cowboys are tied for the most with 11 players in the Hall. Every Super Bowl winning team in this time has had at least 3 players selected in to the Hall of Fame with the exception of the 1986-1987 Giants (Lawrence Taylor and Harry Carson) and the 1990-91 Giants (only Lawrence Taylor). That brings us to the 2011-12 Giants. For people who don’t consider Eli Manning to be deserving of the Hall of Fame, is that team going to be the first SB winner in the SB era to have 0 Hall of Fame Selections? Who, aside from Eli Manning, would be deserving of a spot? Chris Snee? Justin Tuck? I have a really hard time seeing the selection committee voting either of them in, considering their accolades. Personally, I think Chris Snee was one of the best guards of his era, and should deserve consideration alongside Eli.
The Houston Oilers in 1982 - 1984 are some of the worst teams ever with the most Hall of Famers (5)
The Oilers went 1-8, 2-14 and 3-13 in these years. A slightly varying cast over three years with Hall of Famers Earl Campbell, Dave Casper, Bruce Matthews, Mike Munchak, Elvin Bethea, Robert Brazile and Warren Moon could not muster four wins in a season.
Are these facts surprising to you? When I was looking over these things, I was certainly surprised by some of the findings. It’s very unlikely we’ll have teams that have 11 HoFers on them in the modern league, with a slightly higher number of teams and a salary cap to prevent the best teams from getting all the best players. Even if the Kansas City Chiefs threepeat, I have a hard time seeing any more than 7 players from their current roster (Mahomes, Kelce, Hopkins, Creed, Thuney, Chris Jones and McDuffie) being inducted in the future, and some of them are very early on in their careers need to continue to have amazing careers to have that shot.