The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 was revealed on Thursday night with five more deserving inductees.

Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri and Roger Craig saw their waits for a gold jacket end, as voters decided to let them into this exclusive club. However, for those five deserving hall-of-famers, there were several snubs for the vote this year.

The Hall of Fame voting process dominated the news cycle recently, as people criticized the vote when some of the results leaked early. However, only so many players can get into the Hall of Fame every year.

Here’s a look at the three biggest Hall of Fame snubs.

NFL Hall of Fame snubs 2026Bill Belichick, Coach, 1991-1995, 2001-2023

The NFL world was shocked when Bill Belichick didn’t get into the Hall of Fame on his first try.

The case for Belichick

Belichick’s case for the Hall of Fame is as easy as it gets. As a head coach for 29 seasons, Belichick won six Super Bowl championships with the New England Patriots, the most of any head coach in league history, and he won two more Super Bowls as an assistant coach with the New York Giants.

Belichick retired as third all-time in the coaches’ wins list, and he is one of only three coaches ever with at least 300 wins as a head coach. He coached 20 seasons with at least double-digit wins, making the playoffs in 19 of those seasons.

In 44 playoff games, Belichick won 31, which currently stands as the most ever by a head coach. He was at the helm of one of the most dominant dynasties in American sports history, and his absence was so surprising that it caused a backlash among other NFL personalities.

The case against Belichick

If there is an argument against Belichick, it comes with his two scandals. Belichick was the head coach of the Patriots when the organization dealt with two separate cheating scandals, first Spygate in 2007, then Deflategate in 2014.

The NFL investigated the organization over both of those scandals, and handed down punishments after finding wrongdoing. In Spygate, the Patriots were accused of illegally spying on their opponents, and in Deflategate, New England was investigated for illegally deflating footballs on the sidelines.

Ultimately, if voters believe that these two scandals were enough of a black eye on the game, then that is why Belichick was left out of the Hall.

Eli Manning, QB, 2004-2019

For the second-straight year, former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning was the biggest name among the modern-era players left out of the Hall of Fame.

The case for Eli Manning

Manning is one of the most polarizing players on the ballot, but there’s no denying his success at the biggest stage. Manning led the Giants to two Super Bowls in his NFL career, both against Tom Brady and the Patriots in a four-year span.

In his first Super Bowl, Manning led what may have been the biggest upset in NFL history, as the 9-7 Giants beat the undefeated Patriots. Not only did Manning win his first Super Bowl, he did so with a clutch touchdown drive late in the fourth quarter, cementing an all-time great NFL moment. Four years later, Manning did it again by leading another late touchdown drive against New England on the biggest stage.

During those games, Super Bowls 42 and 46, Manning won Super Bowl MVP, making him one of six players to hold multiple Super Bowl MVP awards in his career. The others include three hall-of-famers (Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana), and two future hall-of-famers (Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes).

The case against Eli Manning

Manning’s regular season numbers are not to the level of many Pro Football Hall of Famers. The quarterback ended his career with an even .500 record of 117-117,  and he only made four Pro Bowls and one all-pro team in his career.

Additionally, Manning led the league in interceptions three times and had at least double-digit interceptions in 14-straight seasons from 2005 to 2018. Despite those two Super Bowl victories, Manning only made the playoffs in six seasons, and he never won a playoff game outside of his championship seasons.

Manning was never in the upper-echelon of NFL quarterbacks, making his case much murkier than other players, like Drew Brees. The Hall of Fame is a special and selective place, and despite the Super Bowl titles, Manning’s entire career was up-and-down.

Terrell Suggs, EDGE, 2003-2019

Terrell Suggs was on the ballot for the second time this year, but the former Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals pass rusher fell short.

The case for Terrell Suggs

In 17 seasons, Suggs terrorized quarterbacks, producing seven double-digit sack seasons, seven Pro Bowl seasons, one year as the Defensive Rookie of the Year and another as the Defensive Player of the year. Suggs was on a fearsome Ravens defense, helping them win a Super Bowl and making several playoff runs.

When he retired, Suggs finished his career with 139 sacks and 39 forced fumbles, which are both the 12th-most in the history of the league, and 202 tackles-for-loss, more than any other defensive player ever. In fact, he is the only player with at least 200 tackles-for-loss in the history of the NFL.

Suggs has both the peak and longevity to make the Hall of Fame, as he is currently the NFL’s sack leader for players not in the Hall.

The case against Terrell Suggs

Despite his pass-rushing ability, Suggs plays a tough position for Hall of Fame induction. A similar player to Suggs is John Abraham, who had 133.5 sacks and 148 tackles-for-loss, but hasn’t been elected despite retiring five years earlier.

Suggs is likely a victim of other players on the ballot being more deserving, as every player elected in 2026 has as good of a case for the Hall of Fame as Suggs. Additionally, Suggs suffers from being on a Ravens defense that had so much talent, including Ray Lewis and Ed Reed.