Ole Miss legend Eli Manning nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame 2025 class in his first year of eligibility
OXFORD, Miss. — The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced 167 modern-era players nominated for the Class of 2025. Sixteen of them are in their first year of eligibility, a list that includes none other than former Ole Miss quarterback and two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning.
Manning, Ole Miss’ all-time leading passer, led the Rebels from 2000-03 and was Ole Miss’ highest draft pick in school history when he was chosen No. 1 in the 2004 NFL Draft. He was selected by the San Diego Chargers who then traded him to the New York Giants.
Manning went on to play 16 years in the NFL, spending the entirety of his career with the Giants. At New York, Manning finished ranked top 10 in career passing yards, completions and touchdown passes.
The roster of Hall of Fame nominees consists of 94 offensive players, 56 defensive players and 17 special teams players.
Selection Process
In the next step in the selection process, a Screening Committee will reduce the list to 50 (plus ties, if any, for the 50th spot). The results of that reduction will be announced in mid-October.
The full 50-person Hall of Fame Selection Committee then will reduce the list further – to 25 Semifinalists, later this fall. Another vote will create the list of 15 Finalists who will be discussed at the annual meeting ahead of Super Bowl LVIX that will produce the new class, which can consist of three, four or five Modern-Era Players under the Hall of Fame’s bylaws.
Manning at Ole Miss
At Ole Miss, Manning won the 2003 Maxwell Award given to the best all-around player in college football. Throughout his four-year career in Oxford, he set or tied 47 Rebel records for single-game, season and career achievements.
Manning, who finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting for 2003, finished his time at Ole Miss with a school-record 10,119 career passing yards and 81 TDs.
His No. 10 jersey was retired by New York in 2019 and also by Ole Miss in 2021.
Evelyn Van Pelt
Evelyn has covered sports for over two decades, beginning her journalism career as a sports writer for a newspaper in Austin, Texas. She attended Texas A&M and majored in English. Evelyn's love for Ole Miss began when her daughter Katie attended the university on a volleyball scholarship. Evelyn created the Rebel Walk in 2013 and has served as publisher and managing editor since its inception.
