The NFL Hall of Fame Voting Process Needs To Be Changed

By Ronald "RC" Cameron

Before I begin, I believe that the NFL is the best team sport in the world, even better than the NBA (And I LOVE the NBA) and for the most part, they do a great job of promoting their sport and making it better every year. But there is one thing that the NFL clearly can't seem to get right and that's the HOF (Hall of Fame) voting process. Currently, there are 44 voters, most of which never picked up a football in their lives and they meet every year and decide the fate of potential HOF candidates.

I have a HUGE problem with the HOF voting process and for many reasons.   As I mentioned earlier, most of the voters are sportswriters and  every year they all meet for 8-9 hours and determine who belongs into the Hall of Fame.

Also, there are NO HOF players or coaches that have a vote. Who would better determine who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame better than someone who owns the prestigious tan jacket?

And why is the process so private? If those 44 voters have a vote, they should be able to tell the world who they voted for and those players who were denied would then have the right to respond to them, voicing their displeasure.

And one last thing--I know HOF voters say that they don't consider what players have done off the field and they say that they don't hold grudges against players or coaches who have been less than "media friendly", but how do they explain why so many guys who were not always nice to the media get passed over every year? I'm going to list three guys who should have been voted into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot. I'm not going to reveal their names right away, just their stats and accomplishments.


1.  When he retired, this wide receiver was second all-time in receptions (1101) and in touchdowns (130), he went to 8 straight Pro Bowls in an era filled with elite wide receivers (Jerry Rice, Michael Irvin, Sterling Sharpe, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens). He was a leader on the field and no wide receiver in the history of the NFL had a better set of hands.

2. This Defensive end played 12 seasons, he recorded 100.5 sacks, he was a 5 time Pro-bowler and he is the only player in NFL history who was on 5 Super Bowl teams.

3. This coach won 2 Super Bowls and led another team to another one. His assistant coaches went on to win a plethora of Super Bowls (Bill Belichick, Tom Coughlin, Sean Payton) and he has rebuilt several failing franchises. 

Before I reveal those three guys, I have to ask one question: Based on their stats and accomplishments, did you consider them to be Hall of Fame worthy? The three guys I'm talking about are Cris Carter, Charles Haley and of course "The Big Tuna", Bill Parcells.

The Hall of Fame snub that has me in an up roar is Cris Carter, who has been denied for the last 5 years. Full disclosure: I'm a life-long Minnesota Viking fan and a fan of Carter's so I will admit I may have a blind spot where Carter is concerned, but still I believe he's being denied his rightful place into the Hall of Fame because as I stated, he was not always media friendly when he played.

Most NFL sports fans know about some of things Charles Haley was accused of doing in locker rooms and to those that don't know, Google his name.  And also, Bill Parcells was known for being somewhat abrasive to the media and I'm sure most of those sportswriters haven't forgotten how he treated some of them. Still, that should not prevent those guys from being entered into the Hall of Fame.

And since the Hall of Fame voters seem to be biased against players or coaches who did not grant those interviews or who berated them during interviews, I believe the voting process should be altered and expanded.



Here is my solution for improving the Hall of Fame voting process:

1. Given there are 32 teams in the NFL, give three Hall of Fame votes to three current Hall of Famers who played for those respective teams. For example, in Dallas, give a vote to Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin and Roger Staubach (or Troy Aikman). And if a team doesn't have anyone who's in the Hall of Fame,  give those votes to teams that have a large amount of Hall of Famers like Pittsburgh or San Francisco.

2. Make the HOF voting process public for all to see or just mail in the votes and add them up. It should not take 45 voters eight hours to decide on whether or not a guy should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. Either you're a Hall of Famer, or you're not. Simple as that. 

3. Expand the number of modern day players/coaches from 5 to 8.  I know I mentioned Cris Carter as someone who has been snubbed, but there are other deserving players such as Jerome Bettis, Tim Brown, Andre Reed and many others. Expanding that number to 8 would help get those guys into the Hall of Fame. 

So there you have it. If you agree with my solution, or if you think the current voting process is fine, I want to  hear from you.