Last Saturday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2017 was announced. Six players and one owner were chosen to join the 303 previously selected Hall of Famers. Congratulations Morten Anderson, Terrell Davis, Kenny Easley, Jerry Jones, Jason Taylor, LaDainian Tomlinson and Kurt Warner.
We learned from David Baker, President of the PFHOF, the improbability of becoming a Hall of Famer. He told us that millions of people have played the game of football, thousands have played in the NFL, but only 303 have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. The nominee must have at least 80% of the votes to be selected. There have only been 46 players who received 100% – including Brett Favre, Class of 2016.
There has been a lot of debate about Terrell Owens not being chosen this year as a Hall of Famer. While Owens is unarguably one of the best wide receivers of all time, he has been snubbed two years in a row by the Hall of Fame voters. The process of choosing who belongs in the Hall of Fame is not supposed to be a popularity contest and should not be based on personalities, however for some reason T.O.’s 15,934 receiving yards – 2nd in NFL history and 153 receiving touchdowns – 3rd in NFL history were not enough to award him a gold jacket.
We had the opportunity to meet three Hall of Famers last summer at the PFHOF Fantasy Football Experience – Warren Moon, Anthony Munoz and Chris Doleman. These class acts are genuinely down-to-earth, outstanding individuals who fully deserve the honor of being in the Hall of Fame. What an elite group!
