Every year during Super Bowl Week, at the NFL Honors, we are introduced to a brand new class of humans who will be inducted into one of the most storied brotherhoods in all of sports. We are given a list of gentlemen who exhibited next-level greatness on the field, to the point where the league has dubbed them as the “best of the best.”

This year is no different; with the likes of Jared Allen, Sterling Sharpe, Eric Allen, and Antonio Gates being named members of the Class of 2025.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025:
🏈Jared Allen
🏈Sterling Sharpe
🏈Eric Allen
🏈Antonio Gates

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 7, 2025

This is a list of wonderful humans, who all deserve this recognition in their own right. Whether it’s Jared Allen’s dominance as a pass-rusher, Antonio Gates being one of the greatest TEs in the history of the game, or anything in between; this is a distinguished group of ball-players, who accomplished great things during their time on the football field.

BUT…there is one name that is missing from this list. There is ONE MAN who, in my opinion, had his gold-jacket STOLEN from him this year by the voting committee.

That man..is Adam Vinatieri.

Adam Vinatieri not being a first-ballot Hall of Famer is a disgrace.

This is still the best kick in NFL history, for my money. pic.twitter.com/Y5gu33nJOs

— Jimmy Sullivan (@JimmySullivanBC) February 7, 2025

Adam Vinatieri. For those of you who have been living under a rock; this man is, WITHOUT QUESTION, the greatest kicker in the history of the NFL. He has made more clutch kicks in his illustrious career, than most kickers have made ACTUAL kicks. He is basically “The Godfather” of the kicking game, and someone that every special-teamer strives to be whenever they step foot onto the field.

He is ROYALTY! During his 24-year tenure, this man has compiled a resumé that some folks will NEVER COME CLOSE TO in their lifetime. This includes;

• 3x Pro Bowler
• 3x All-Pro
• 4x Super Bowl Champion
• Pro Football Hall of Fame 1st team All-2000s Team
• NFL 100 All Time Team
• Most Points In League History (2673)
• Most Field Goals Made In League History (599)
• and so on, and so on, and so on……

He is a living legend, who has set the bar for place-kickers across the world. He showed that you don’t have to be a quarterback, or a wideout, to be great in this league. You can have a long and fruitful career in the NFL, by having one of the most accurate BOOTS in the history of the sport. You can go down as one of the GREATS, by being the man who scores the most important points in the most crucial moments.

So to say that he’s not a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer is absolutely BANANAS to me. It’s complete looney-tunes, in my book. This is, for lack of a better comparison, the ‘Tom Brady’ of kicking……and you’re keeping him from getting in this year? You’re keeping him from cementing himself as the BEST OF THE BEST in the history of this league?

That’s WILD, if you ask me. No, scratch that; that’s HIGHWAY ROBBERY to the greatest degree. Adam Vinatieri should be up there this year getting his jacket with the rest of those guys. If anything, to borrow a phrase that the great Pat McAfee coined a number of years ago; the fact that he’s not being inducted this year is “POSITIONISM” to the highest degree!

It’s absolutely RIDICULOUS! But you know what, in the end…..what do I know? I’m just a guy from the Midwest, with a beer and a laptop, trying to make sense of this world.