MIAMI GARDENS, FL - FEBRUARY 04: Receiver Reggie Wayne #87 and quarterback Peyton Manning #18 of the Indianapolis Colts run off the field after a 53-yard touchdown reception during the first quarter of Super Bowl XLI against the Chicago Bears on February 4, 2007 at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images) | Getty Images
While his former teammate Adam Vinatieri will be enshrined into football immortality this summer, Indianapolis Colts wide receiver great Reggie Wayne will be forced to wait at least another year to reach Canton, Ohio, after being named a finalist during all seven years of his initial eligibility.
For what it’s worth,
Wayne, along with fellow wideout Torry Holt, didn’t make the initial cut from 15 to 10 finalists per Fox59/CBS4’s Mike Chappell as part of the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026 voting process, which may not bode well for his chances realistically next year either—with more 1st-year locks coming in, including former greats such as running back Adrian Peterson and tight end Rob Gronkowski.
After being selected by the Colts in the first round of the 2001 NFL Draft, Wayne went on to become a Super Bowl Champion, First-Team NFL All-Pro, 2x NFL 2nd-Team All-Pro, 6x NFL Pro Bowler, NFL receiving yards leader, and upon his retirement, an eventual member of the Colts franchise’s Ring of Honor.
Playing all 14 of his seasons in Indianapolis, Wayne currently ranks 10th NFL all-time in receiving yards (14,345), 11th in receptions (1,070), and tied-31st in receiving touchdowns (82).
Regarding the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s selection of wide receivers, the deliberation process is arguably dictated by arbitrary rules, inconsistencies, and unnecessary gatekeeping based on a national media popularity contest and other introduced fabrications, rather than just purely looking at an elite wideout’s playing career on the field, overall production, and complete body of work.
Let’s be honest, in particular, the Pro Football Hall of Fame committee’s selection process has been arguably flawed and marred by inconsistencies for a while now.
Colts legendary wideout Marvin Harrison (and Wayne’s former teammate) was forced to wait two years because of an alleged ‘long line of wideouts’ that included longtime NFL wideouts Andre Reed and Tim Brown.
Reed was on the ballot for 8 years, while Brown was on his 6th year of the ballot. Nothing against Reed or Brown, but Harrison was enshrined year(s) later despite being the better player at their respective peaks. Reed and Brown were often very good, but Harrison was great a lot.
(There should be no rationale where a superior player, coach, or GM should have to wait a year for the inferior individual to make it. That goes true for the recent Bill Belichick national controversy of not becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer as well—despite being one of the greatest coaches of all-time).
Former longtime Arizona Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald was just elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his first-year on the ballot, despite a pair of wideouts such as Reggie Wayne (6th year) and Torry Holt (12 years) having been waiting in the line for a while and a lot longer as fellow finalists.
I’m not disputing that Fitzgerald was a better wideout than both, looking at their careers and production (and he rightfully should’ve made it over both—if all still eligible), but if Harrison had to wait a year or two for ‘the line’ at wideout, for an enforced arbitrary rule, why didn’t Fitzgerald?
Candidly, I don’t see a world where Fitzgerald was a first-ballot NFL Hall of Famer but prior contemporaries such as the Colts’ Harrison (2 years waiting) and the San Francisco 49ers/Philadelphia Eagles/Dallas Cowboys Terrell Owens (3 years) were not. Those were all comparable players and arguably all Top 5 NFL wideouts all-time.
They should’ve all been first ballot.
Was the only reason that Harrison didn’t because he was quiet and shy to the media, played with legendary Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, and maybe even for the post-playing career car wash incident in Philadelphia?
Likewise for Owens, was it because he was often polarizing in the locker room and never short of occasional national drama off-the-field—while failing to find a long-term NFL home despite such a great playing career?
Outside of everything else, the on-field production for both speaks for itself.
Both former elite NFL wideouts rank Top 10 in receiving yards and receptions respectively, and that was despite playing in an era, where teams still made a conscious effort to run the ball and defensive penalties were more lax.
Meanwhile, Wayne has continued to wait, and wait, while two former contemporaries, both Andre Johnson (2 years waiting) and Isaac Bruce (5 years) have already gotten in during his prolonged wait.
Why has Wayne now had to wait significantly longer? Was either of Johnson or Bruce significantly better than him, if arguably at all here?
Similar to Harrison, there seems to be an irrational national media narrative spun,
including recently by retired former MMQB writer Peter King, that wideouts should be inexplicably somehow punished for playing with Peyton Manning as part of the deliberation process.
As Colts Hall of Fame general manager Bill Polian, the renowned football executive who drafted and scouted Wayne, once so eloquently stated, who else were they supposed to play with instead? Ryan Leaf?
Those wideouts didn’t get to choose who threw them the football. Should they have requested then Colts backup quarterback Jim Sorgi instead?
We’ve never penalized the undisputed GOAT at the position Jerry Rice from catching footballs from fellow Hall of Fame quarterbacks such as Joe Montana and Steve Young.
We didn’t put an asterisk next to the year in which First-Ballot Hall of Fame wideout Randy Moss had 160 catches, amassed 1,493 receiving yards, and recorded a whopping 23 touchdown receptions from another GOAT Tom Brady with New England back in 2007 (*Played with great quarterback).
“Well, that shouldn’t have counted as much because he had a great quarterback!”
I mean what kind of failed logic is that!
Larry Fitzgerald caught a lot of passes from fellow Hall of Famer Kurt Warner in Arizona with the Cardinals, as did Isaac Bruce when both were previously on the St. Louis Rams. Regarding Fitzgerald, former NFL All-Pro quarterback and 3x NFL Pro Bowler Carson Palmer wasn’t too shabby throwing passes either for a stretch.
Why are we only seemingly discounting Harrison and now Wayne for the ‘Peyton Manning effect’?
I don’t want to hear that Wayne was the ‘Robin to Harrison’s Batman’ (especially if Bruce and Tim Brown are both in despite having previously played the 1B to another elite wideout’s 1A during prior stints of their playing careers as well).
Back in 2009, with Harrison retired, Wayne ‘became Bruce’ and was the leading wideout on a Colts squad that made the Super Bowl, having caught 100 receptions for 1,264 total receiving yards and 10 touchdown receptions.
He was a bona fide elite wideout by every definition of the football label.
I’m not saying that Wayne shouldn’t have had to wait a bit for his turn—and pay his dues in line, but the yearly process lacks consistency and enforcement, and it seems like arbitrary rules are applied in some instances, to particular players, whereas in others they aren’t at all.
Please Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, make it make sense!
With all that being said, I’ll gladly get on my soapbox and proudly proclaim,
Wayne for the Hall of Fame ‘27!
