Because according to pro football historian Jack Silverstein (@ readjack.bsky.social on BlueSky), Manning is now basically a lock to one day enter the Hall of Fame based on his being a first-ballot semifinalist. Be it this year or somewhere down the line, Manning will soon get a bronze bust of his head.

On Wednesday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released its list of the 25 modern era semifinalists for the class of 2025. I recently led a group of Hall analysts and historians in building our own list of 50,