Amid a three-game losing streak, the Denver Nuggets have lost their fourth-leading scorer with a hamstring injury.
Peyton Watson suffered a Grade 2 left hamstring strain late in Wednesday’s 134-127 double-overtime loss to the New York Knicks and is expected to be sideline for an extended period of time, The Athletic’s Tony Jones reports.
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Watson, 23, was having a breakout season for the Nuggets, averaging 14.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2 assists per game. He was also shooting 42% on 180 3-point attempts.
The news on the fourth-year guard adds to the Nuggets’ injury woes. Aaron Gordon will be sidelined for at least four to six weeks after reaggravating a strained right hamstring that has limited him to 20 games this season. Watson had replaced Gordon in the starting lineup and was averaging 21.4 points since the beginning of January.
In addition to Gordon and Watson, MVP runner-up Nikola Jokić missed 17 games with a bone bruise in his left knee. Christian Braun has appeared in only 16 games due to an ankle injury. And Jonas Valanciunas missed nearly a month with a calf strain.
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“It’s deflating when you keep seeing people go down around you when you’re trying to build towards something,” Nuggets coach David Adelman told ESPN’s Tim Bontemps following Wednesday’s game.
Despite the injuries and losing six of its past 10 games, Denver currently holds the No. 3 spot in the Western Conference with a 33-19 record going into Saturday’s road matchup with the Chicago Bulls.
“I thought I was going to be a proud owner of the Browns but it wasn’t able to happen because I wasn’t able to take my name off of my product,” Woodson said. “It’s what made the product. It’s how I started so I wasn’t able to do that.”
Woodson ultimately opted to keep the brands rather than join the Browns, who released a short statement to FOS:
“We respect the decision by Charles and wish him well.”
Woodson never played for the Browns in his career, but he's an Ohio native who reportedly hit it off with Browns owner Jimmy Haslam in 2024. With no NFL team to help manage, Woodson will continue his post-retirement life as an NFL broadcaster and aspiring alcohol mogul.
Detroit Tigers All-Star Javier Báez has been ruled ineligible to play for Puerto Rico in the 2026 World Baseball Classic after testing positive for marijuana during the 2023 tournament, The Athletic’s Cody Stavenhagen reports.
Under World Baseball Softball Confederation rules, anyone testing positive for marijuana in its events is ineligible for two years. Báez tested positive in 2023, which made him ineligible to play in WBSC events from April 26, 2024, to April 26, 2026. The 2026 WBC, to be played March 5-17, takes place during that period.
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Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have been working in tandem to restore Báez’s eligibility for the 2026 tournament. But the WBSC isn’t willing to make an exception on its drug policy, according to Stavenhagen.
Báez being ruled ineligible is another setback for Puerto Rico, which has had difficulty assembling a roster for the 2026 WBC due to multiple players being denied insurance coverage because of previous injuries.
New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor had coverage denied due to two surgeries on his right elbow over the past three years. Others unable to get insurance for the tournament include Houston Astros third baseman Carlos Correa, who was left off Puerto Rico’s WBC roster, which was announced Thursday.
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With so many players unavailable, Puerto Rico reportedly considered withdrawing from the WBC.
Báez’s positive marijuana test will not result in any penalty from MLB. The league has allowed marijuana use since 2020.
The 12-year MLB veteran, 33, had a resurgent season for the Tigers in 2025, playing shortstop and center field. He was named a starter for the American League All-Star team and finished with a .257/.282/.398 slash line, 17 doubles, 12 home runs and 57 RBI.
Báez played for Puerto Rico in the 2017 and 2023 editions of the WBC. He has a Puerto Rican flag tattooed on one of his arms.
Eli Manning has once again missed out on making it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The longtime former New York Giants quarterback fell short of making the cut into the Hall of Fame again this year, marking his second straight time falling short as one of the 15 modern-era finalists.
Manning is generally expected to eventually earn his way into the Hall of Fame, though the topic is often debated and there are plenty who think he shouldn’t. He currently ranks 11th in both career passing yards and career passing touchdowns in league history, and he won two Super Bowls during his 16 seasons with the Giants. The four-time Pro Bowler was the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year, too.
Manning finished with a 117-117 overall record with the Giants, however, and he was eventually replaced by then-rookie Daniel Jones during his final season with the franchise in 2019. Manning also led the NFL in interceptions three times.
Despite the areas where he may have struggled, history is on Manning’s side. He is one of six players with multiple Super Bowl MVP awards to his name. Of that group, three were first-ballot inductees. The other two, longtime New England Patriots star Tom Brady and current Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, are expected to be first-ballot entries once they are eligible.
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The Hall of Fame is controlled by Canton’s selection committee, which is made up of a 50-person panel of media members all selected by the Hall’s board of directors and appointed to two-year terms. Each team’s media contingent gets a representative, as does the Pro Football Writers of America organization. The last 17 spots are then filled by at-large contributors. It takes at least 80% approval to get in.
Manning isn’t the only notable NFL figure who didn’t make the cut for the Hall of Fame this year. Longtime Patriots head coach Bill Belichick fell short of his bid to become a first-ballot entrant. Belichick was reportedly “puzzled” and “disappointed” by the decision during his first year of eligibility. He reportedly asked associates, “Six Super Bowls isn’t enough?” and “What does a guy have to do?” after learning of the news, which set the NFL world into a firestorm on social media.
But Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald were the definitions of first-ballot Hall of Famers.
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The Pro Football Hall of Fame class of 2026 was announced Thursday night during the NFL Honors show. The class included one of the best quarterbacks and one of the best wide receivers in league history:
QB Drew Brees
Brees checked every box to be on a short list of greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
Brees made 13 Pro Bowls, he’s second to Tom Brady in many career passing lists, including most yards (80,358) and passing touchdowns (571). He led the NFL in passing seven times, and had five 5,000-yard seasons and another 4,952-yard season. Brees led the NFL in completion percentage six times. He also helped the Saints to their only Super Bowl title at the end of the 2009 season.
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“What an elite club we’re part of,” Brees said shortly after the Hall of Fame class was announced. “Still pretty surreal, I’d say.”
WR Larry Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald was the third pick of the 2004 NFL Draft and over the next 17 seasons, he was everything the Arizona Cardinals could ask for.
Fitzgerald was an 11-time Pro Bowler, finished second all-time to Jerry Rice with 1,432 receptions and 17,492 yards and sixth with 121 receiving touchdowns. He was also the Walter Payton Man of the Year winner in 2016. Fitzgerald was the total package at receiver, but was legendary for his excellent hands. Fitzgerald rarely had a drop in his 272 career games, including playoffs. That included a trip to and memorable touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII.
LB Luke Kuechly
The only argument against Kuechly was his longevity as concussions cut his career short. Over his eight seasons with the Carolina Panthers, he was among the best defensive players in football. He was first-team All-Pro five times, won Defensive Rookie of the Year and in his second season he was Defensive Player of the Year. His all-around ability at linebacker made him one of the best players of his era.
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“The reason we’re here is we had great teams, great teammates and great coaches who highlighted what we did really well,” Kuechly said after the announcement.
K Adam Vinatieri
Vinatieri had some of the most memorable kicks in NFL history, including two walk-off field goals to win Super Bowls, and now he’s the rare kicker in the Hall of Fame.
Vinatieri, who set records for field goals made and attempted and points scored, with 2,673 over his 24 seasons with the Patriots and Colts, was voted into the Hall of Fame. He joins Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen as the only primary placekickers in the Hall.
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RB Roger Craig
Craig was ahead of his time as a dual-threat running back. He was the first to have 1,000 yards rushing and 1,000 yards receiving in a season, doing so for the 1985 San Francisco 49ers. That came a year after Craig helped the 49ers win Super Bowl XIX. He scored three touchdowns in that game. Craig played 11 seasons, eight with the 49ers, one with the Raiders and his final two with the Vikings. Craig was one of three seniors finalists for the Hall of Fame this season.
SAN FRANCISCO — When the New England Patriots hired Mike Vrabel last offseason, it was considered one of the best hires of the cycle. He had a track record of being a very effective head coach in the NFL.
But nobody expected a turnaround like the Patriots had.
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Vrabel led New England to a stunning 14-3 record after they were 4-13 the season before, and he will be coaching in Super Bowl LX. That’s why Vrabel wasn’t on hand at NFL Honors to pick up his second NFL Coach of the Year award.
“It’s an honor to be recognized among the great coaches of our league,” Vrabel said in a video message he pretaped before the show. “Ultimately my name goes on this award, but this name belongs to a building, it belongs to a staff, and ultimately belongs to the men in the locker room who believed when they couldn’t always see it, and bought in when it wasn’t always easy.”
Vrabel was also the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year when he was leading the Tennessee Titans. Liam Coen of the Jacksonville Jaguars finished second, Mike Macdonald of the Seattle Seahawks finished third and Ben Johnson of the Chicago Bears finished fourth according to AP. Vrabel had 19 first place votes. Coen had 16.
The rest of the annual awards from the NFL Honors show will be updated as they’re announced on Thursday night:
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Defensive Player of the Year: Cleveland Browns DE Myles Garrett
It took Garrett a little while to break through and win an NFL Defensive Player of the Year award.
Now he has two.
Garrett, who won DPOY two years ago, won the league’s top defensive prize again. Garrett’s award was presented by Michael Strahan, who said Garrett won unanimously. Will Anderson Jr. of the Houston Texans finished second according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press.
“Based on the season I had, I was hoping it was unanimous,” Garrett said backstage after being presented his award. “I think I did enough to earn it.”
Garrett, the Cleveland Browns’ star defensive end, was an easy pick. He set an NFL record with 23 sacks this season. He has 125.5 sacks in his nine NFL season and just turned 30 years old, meaning he could enter the top-five all-time list in career sacks (Chris Doleman is fifth with 150.5) within the next two seasons.
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Offensive Rookie of the Year: Carolina Panthers WR Tetairoa McMillan
McMillan, the eighth pick of last year’s NFL Draft, had a consistent, productive season for a Panthers team that won the NFC South. McMillan had 1,014 yards and seven touchdowns. McMillan beat out Patriots RB TreVeyon Henderson, Saints QB Tyler Shough, Giants QB Jaxson Dart and Buccaneers WR Emeka Egbuka, who were the other finalists.
“To me the most humbling part of this is I know I could have never done this by myself,” McMillan said as he was presented the award. “I’m just so grateful and so blessed.”
McMillan got 41 of 50 first-place votes, easily outpacing Shough who finished second and had five first-place votes according to the AP.
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Protector of the Year: Chicago Bears G Joe Thuney
This is a new award to recognize offensive linemen, and the first winner of it was Thuney, the versatile guard who was in his first season with the Bears after four stellar seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Thuney has been in the NFL for 10 seasons, and he has been a Pro Bowler each of the past four seasons.
“I wanted to perform well to the guy next to me,” Thuney said after he was presented his award. “Just a lot of fun to go out there and play, and I credit my teammates for how I played.”
Thuney said it was pleased there is an award that recognizes the best offensive lineman in the NFL.
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“It’s long overdue,” Thuney said.
Comeback Player of the Year: San Francisco 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey
McCaffrey played just four games during the 2024 season due to injuries. He came back strong, playing in all 17 games for the San Francisco 49ers and gaining 2,126 yards from scrimmage with 17 touchdowns with a huge workload all season. He had 311 carries and 102 receptions, which was impressive coming off an injury-marred season.
“This is a huge honor,” McCaffrey said as he was presented the award. “I’m so blessed to have the biggest support system on the planet.”
McCaffrey got 31 of 50 first-place votes according to AP. Detroit Lions DE Aidan Hutchinson, who got nine first-place votes, finished second.
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Defensive Rookie of the Year: Cleveland Browns LB Carson Schwesinger
Schwesinger was a second-round pick but he was the standout among the defensive players in the rookie class. Schwesinger had 157 tackles in 16 games, while adding 2.5 sacks and two interceptions. His all-around game allowed him to beat out Seahawks safety Nick Emmanwori for the award.
Offensive Player of the Year: Seattle Seahawks WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba
Smith-Njigba had a huge breakout in his third season, leading the NFL with 1,793 receiving yards. For his big season he was awarded the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year. Smith-Njigba wasn’t on hand to accept his award at NFL Honors because he’s preparing for Super Bowl LX.
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It was a close vote, with Smith-Njigba getting just 14 first-place votes. He barely beat Christian McCaffrey, who had 12 first-place votes. Puka Nacua, in third place, had eight first-place votes.
Smith-Njigba is the fourth receiver to win OPOY since 2019, and breaks a streak of two running backs winning the award (Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley).
NFL MVP: Rams QB Matthew Stafford
Stafford won an exceptionally close vote, barely beating out Drake Maye of the New England Patriots. Stafford had 366 points, with 24 first-place votes. Maye had 361 points, with 23 first-place votes. It’s Stafford’s first NFL MVP award at the end of his 17th NFL season.
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Walter Payton Man of the Year: Washington Commanders LB Bobby Wagner
Wagner, a 14-year veteran with the Seahawks, Rams and Commanders, was given the prestigious honor for his work on and off the field. Wagner was awarded for his community service work, which includes being an advocate for mental health and social justice reform according to the Commanders’ site.
“I didn’t think I was going to win this award. I almost didn’t come,” Wagner said as he accepted the award. “I’m glad I did.”
SAN FRANCISCO — It took a long time for Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford to win his first NFL MVP award. And when he did win, he barely won it.
Stafford won his first NFL MVP award, which was announced at the annual NFL Honors show Thursday, narrowly edging New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Stafford led the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns. Winning an MVP puts him even closer to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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Stafford barely won the award. He had 366 points, with 24 first-place votes according to Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. Maye was right behind with 361 points, and 23 first-place votes. The NFL has gone to a points system for its awards voting, with first-place votes worth 10 points, second-place votes worth five, third-place votes worth three, fourth-place votes worth two and fifth-place votes worth one. Had one Stafford voter selected Maye as MVP and put Stafford second, it would have been a split award. Two voters gave Josh Allen a first-place vote, one gave Justin Herbert a first-place vote, and a change from any of those three voters to Maye would have changed the outcome. (Sam Monson of The 33rd Team claimed on X he voted for Herbert.)
Stafford also ended any speculation he might retire this season. As he wrapped up his acceptance speech, Stafford said, “I’ll see you guys next year … hopefully, I won’t be at this event and we’ll be getting ready for another game at SoFi [Stadium].”
Rams head coach Sean McVay and running back Kyren Williams celebrated Stafford’s announcement.
Stafford won in the closest MVP vote since 2003, when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair were co-winners of the award.
It’s a long time coming for Stafford, and his case is a rare one among MVPs.
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To find the best comparison to Stafford winning his first NFL MVP award at age 37, we probably need to go back to before Super Bowl I. In 1963, Y.A. Tittle finally got his first MVP award from the Associated Press. He was already on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but before his age-37 season he hadn’t won the most prestigious MVP award. Tittle set the NFL record with 36 touchdown passes and got the trophy that had eluded him.
Stafford’s MVP case is rare, considering we need to go back more than 60 years for the proper comparison. Stafford has been consistently good since he was drafted first overall in the 2009 draft, amassing more than 64,000 passing yards and 400 touchdowns. But he had never been recognized as the best quarterback in the NFL until this season.
Stafford isn’t the oldest quarterback to win MVP. That’s Tom Brady. Stafford, Tittle and Rich Gannon are the oldest first-time MVPs, all at age 37. Gannon’s case is different, as he didn’t get a chance to be a full-time starter until he joined the Raiders late in his career. Stafford has always been a preferred starter since he was the first pick of the 2009 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions, and a good one.
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Stafford just hadn’t been recognized as the best, until he was on the back nine of his career.
Matthew Stafford of the Los Angeles Rams won his first MVP award in his 17th NFL season. (Photo by Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
(Kara Durrette via Getty Images)
Matthew Stafford fought through back injury
In August, the Rams weren’t worried about Stafford winning NFL MVP. They just wanted him to be on the field.
Stafford’s back injury was the biggest topic in the NFL for about a month. He missed practice from the start of training camp until mid-August. For weeks, every update about his health sounded ominous. At Stafford’s age, beginning the season on the field was not a sure thing.
“We’re trying to get our hands around this as well, so I don’t really have much more information other than think we’re trying some different things that are hopefully going to be in alignment with getting him back out on the field,” McVay said on Aug. 14, via Sarah Barshop of ESPN.
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And from that uneasy beginning to the season, Stafford played the best ball of his 17-year career.
From Week 4 to Week 11, Stafford opened up his lead in the MVP race by playing nearly perfect football. Over eight games, he threw for 25 touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating was 118.9. He ended up throwing 28 straight touchdowns without an interception, an NFL record.
Stafford had a couple of subpar performances in losses late in the season but it didn’t matter. He had already built a huge lead, which he needed in the end.
Stafford bucks recent MVP history
Stafford is a bit of an anomaly in recent history. He’s the first quarterback whose team didn’t win its division to take home MVP since 2008. His individual brilliance was enough to overcome the fact that the Rams finished behind the Seattle Seahawks for the NFC West championship.
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Maye, whose Patriots won the AFC East, had a great case. He led the NFL by completing 72% of his passes and also led the NFL at 8.9 yards per attempt, which is an impressive combination. Maye had a fantastic second NFL season, but when Stafford got 31 votes for the first-team All-Pro quarterback and Maye got 18 (the same group of 50 votes for MVP and the All-Pro teams) it was a strong sign that Stafford would be the MVP front-runner.
Stafford already had a Super Bowl ring, is in the top 10 all time in passing yards and touchdowns and had plenty of accolades. No matter when Stafford decides to retire, he’ll do so with at least one MVP award as well. Though it was a very close call.
Thursday saw the arrival of all 20 rosters set to compete in the 2026 World Baseball Classic. As expected, the United States was the most star-studded, with a handful of other teams possessing the talent usually needed to make a deep run.
Team USA is the strong favorite to shake off its dramatic loss to the Japan, at +110 with BetMGM, followed by Japan (+325) and the Dominican Republic (+350). The next-closest country to that trio is Venezuela at +1400.
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Per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, the rosters collectively feature a record 78 players who have been named to an MLB All-Star team, with 36 of them making the cut last year. Naturally, many of those are on the tournament’s top teams; the U.S., the D.R. and Venezuela collectively account for 50 of those players.
The stars will be out at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, but with some absences. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
(Mitchell Leff via Getty Images)
Here’s every single All-Star currently slated to play when the WBC begins March 5. Obviously, the term All-Star doesn’t quite mean a player is currently a star. Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Tarik Skubal are on this list, yes, but so is 44-year-old Alexei Ramírez, who made the All-Star Game once in 2014 and is still playing in the Cuban leagues.
Pitchers: David Bednar (New York Yankees), Matthew Boyd (Chicago Cubs), Clay Holmes (New York Mets), Clayton Kershaw (retired), Mason Miller (San Diego Padres), Joe Ryan (Minnesota Twins), Paul Skenes (Pittsburgh Pirates), Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers), Michael Wacha (Kansas City Royals), Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants)
Infielders: Alex Bregman (Chicago Cubs), Paul Goldschmidt (free agent), Bryce Harper (Philadelphia Phillies), Gunnar Henderson (Gunnar Henderson), Cal Raleigh (Seattle Mariners), Will Smith (Los Angeles Dodgers), Bobby Witt Jr. (Kansas City Royals)
Outfielders: Byron Buxton (Minnesota Twins), Roman Anthony (Boston Red Sox), Pete Crow-Armstrong (Chicago Cubs), Aaron Judge (New York Yankees)
Pitchers: Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins), Camilo Doval (New York Yankees), Carlos Estévez (Kansas City Royals), Cristopher Sánchez (Philadelphia Phillies), Luis Severino (Athletics), Gregory Soto (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Infielders: Junior Caminero (Tampa Bay Rays), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), Manny Machado (San Diego Padres), Ketel Marte (Arizona Diamondbacks), Jeremy Peña (Houston Astros), Geraldo Perdomo (Arizona Diamondbacks), Carlos Santana (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Outfielders: Julio Rodríguez (Seattle Mariners), Juan Soto (New York Mets), Fernando Tatis Jr. (San Diego Padres)
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Venezuela (12)
Pitchers: Pablo López (Minnesota Twins), Germán Márquez (free agent), Ranger Suárez (Boston Red Sox)
Infielders: Luis Arráez (San Francisco Giants), William Contreras (Milwaukee Brewers), Willson Contreras (Boston Red Sox), Maikel Garcia (Kansas City Royals), Andrés Giménez (Toronto Blue Jays), Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals), Eugenio Suárez (Cincinnati Reds), Gleyber Torres (Detroit Tigers)
Outfielder: Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves)
Puerto Rico (6)
Pitchers: Edwin Díaz (Los Angeles Dodgers), Jorge López (free agent), Seth Lugo (Kansas City Royals)
Infielder: Nolan Arenado (Arizona Diamondbacks)
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Outfielders: Willi Castro (Colorado Rockies), Heliot Ramos (San Francisco Giants)
The two players who decided the previous tournament, former teammates Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, also won’t be filling the same roles. Ohtani will be hitting only this year in the WBC, and Trout isn’t on the U.S. roster.
NFL MVP Matthew Stafford has committed to returning to the field in 2026, according to … NFL MVP Matthew Stafford. The news came in his acceptance speech for winning the 2025 award at Thursday’s NFL Honors ceremony, amid speculation of a potential retirement at the age of 37.
“I can’t wait for you to cheer me on next year when we’re out there kicking ass,” Stafford said to his four daughters who were standing beside him on stage. “So I’ll see you guys next year. Hopefully, I’m not at this event and we’re getting ready for another game at SoFi.”
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Next year’s Super Bowl will be played at the Los Angeles Rams’ home, SoFi Stadium.
The Rams quarterback earned his first NFL MVP award in the 2025-26 NFL season after throwing for a league-high 3,707 passing yards and 46 passing touchdowns with just eight interceptions over 17 games.
“Something I’d been thinking about,” Stafford told reporters backstage of his announcement.
“I ended the season on a healthy note and was a part of a great team,” he added. “I had a bunch of teammates in the crowd, coaches in the crowd, just felt like the right thing to do at the right moment. Happy to be coming back.”
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Stafford narrowly won the award with 24 first-place votes over New England Patriots QB Drake Maye, who earned 23 first-place votes. It was the closest MVP vote since 2003 when Peyton Manning and Steve McNair shared the honor.
Playing a 17th season that began with back soreness during training camp that was eventually diagnosed as an aggravated disc, there were questions as to whether or not Stafford might decide to finish his career after a fifth season — and one Super Bowl championship — with the Rams.
After the Rams’ 31-27 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC championship game, head coach Sean McVay was asked if he expected Stafford to return next season. Surely emotional from the defeat, McVay responded, “Yeah, if he still wants to play. What the hell kind of question is that?”
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McVay highlighted the scenario that prompted the question: “If he still wants to play.” He followed up on those remarks the next day saying that he “absolutely” wanted Stafford to return, but also understood that the quarterback needed time to consider his decision.
However, Stafford addressed any possible uncertainty regarding his future decisively on Thursday after being recognized as the best player in the league for the 2025-26 season.
Nearly three decades after his last NFL snap, Roger Craig is finally a Pro Football Hall of Famer.
It’s a deserved honor for the former All-Pro running back, who won three Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers and four Pro Bowl honors in the 1980s. Unfortunately for seemingly all involved, his election also came via a process that is suddenly a matter of controversy for Canton thanks to the exclusion of Bill Belichick.
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The 2026 Hall of Fame class consists of Craig, Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Luke Kuechly and Adam Vinatieri. The latter four were all elected the conventional way, as modern-era players who received at least 80% approval from the Hall’s selection committee, a group of 50 media members.
Craig, however, was one of three senior players on the ballot this year, alongside former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Ken Anderson and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood. Those three went through a different process.
Due to a recent rule change, non-modern-era players are now inducted through a ballot that has exactly five spots. Three are reserved for the senior players. One is for coaches, like Belichick. And one is for contributors, a catch-all term that could mean an executive, owner, official and more. This year, that was Patriots owner Robert Kraft. All five are nominated through blue-ribbon committees among the 50 voters.
So, Craig, Anderson, Greenwood, Belichick, Kraft. You could find voters who think all five of them are deserving Hall of Famers. However, the twist is that those five were actually in competition with each other, and Craig was the only one to clear the required hurdle.
Roger Craig making the Hall of Fame is a great thing. The process behind his election could use some work. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
(ASSOCIATED PRESS)
Let’s think about the math. Every Hall of Fame inductee must receive at least 80% of the vote from the 50-person committee. Each of those voters, however, gets only three votes max, because only a maximum of three of the five names can receive enshrinement. That means there are 150 votes total, and each guy needs at least 40.
This was the case of the first Belichick “no” vote to come forward, Vahe Gregorian of the Kansas City Star. Gregorian outright said he believes Belichick deserves to be a Hall of Famer. However, he also said he believed that Craig, Anderson and Greenwood all faced a longer road back to the ballot than Belichick, so he voted for the guys he thought needed it’s more.
All of that went into why I felt duty-bound to vote for the richly deserving seniors, who most likely won’t ever have a hearing again as more senior candidates enter the pool and fresh cases get made for others.
Meanwhile, Belichick is inevitable soon … as he should be. At the risk of contradicting my own vote, really, he shouldn’t even have to wait. I understand why people are offended that he isn’t going in the first moment he can.
In the end, though, I felt more compelled by what I perceive to be last chances and looming lost causes within the system as we have it — a system I hope the Hall will see fit to change now.
It’s an understandable sentiment. However, Belichick not making it this time around will only make it harder for the senior and contributor candidates next year, and those could very well be deserving names too. It could even be Kraft again, and it’s entirely possible those two split the Patriots vote this year.
Weird, weird things can happen when the system incentives some voters against simply voting whom they think is most deserving of the Hall of Fame, such as the NFL’s all-time leader in Super Bowl wins among coaches not getting a bust because voters were more sympathetic to a running back from the 1980s.
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Craig making the Hall of Fame is an example of the system working. He didn’t steal Belichick’s spot, or anything like that. However, what’s become obvious in this year’s Hall of Fame voting cycle is that the new system could use some major changes. Just ask some of the voters.
