The initial list of nominees for the 2025 Hall of Fame class was released on Wednesday morning. Fans of the Seattle Seahawks were quick to notice among the first time nominees was beloved running back Marshawn Lynch. However, Lynch was not alone. Alongside him was his former Seahawks teammate in safety Earl Thomas.
The legacy of Earl Thomas is rather… complicated, and it’s reasonable for the 12th Man to feel this way. Earl Thomas, the player, was a transformative safety who helped usher in the greatest era in Seahawks history. A founding member of the Legion of Boom, Thomas quickly became an irreplaceable cog in one of the best defenses to ever take the field. It is not an overstatement to say the 2013 Legion of Boom was the greatest single-season defense in league history, and Thomas was a reason why.
Thomas’ speed and inate ball-hawking skills helped make him the best safety in the league during his prime. An argument can easily be made he was one of the most talented men to ever wear a Seahawks uniform.
On the other hand, Thomas’ personal issues directly contribute to why his legacy is complicated. His tenure in Seattle ended tragically in 2018. Thomas had held out of training camp because he was seeking a new contract, which he never received. Thomas wanted financial security in case of an injury, and Seattle did not want to commit more years/money to an aging safety. In the end, both were proven right, as Thomas suffered a season-ending broken leg.
The final image of Earl Thomas in a Seahawks uniform was him being carted away, flipping off his own team… something he said he did not regret doing. To this day, Thomas is the only major member of those Seattle teams who has not reconciled (at least not publicly) with Pete Carroll or the franchise. Everyone else who left under less-than-ceremonious circumstances have all found their way home.
Thomas landed on his feet in Baltimore, signing a three-year contract in 2019. But his tenure with the Ravens lasted only a year, as he was cut before the 2020 season due to him punching teammate Chuck Clark. Later, it was revealed Thomas had become a problematic teammate in Baltimore by constantly showing up late to, or missing, meetings, as well as never truly buying into the culture. When Ravens head coach John Harbaugh approached his leadership council of veteran players to address what to do with Thomas after the altercation with Clark, all but one voted to have him cut.
And that was essentially the end of his NFL career. No team was interested in the services of a player who was a considerable issue in the locker room, even if he was coming off his seventh Pro Bowl season.
Off the field, Thomas’ life has been a bit of a mess. In 2020, his then-wife held him at gunpoint after she found him and his brother in bed with other women, which eventually led to a divorce. Thomas was then arrested in 2022 for repeatedly violating a protective order against him, reportedly by his ex-wife.
So, yeah, complicated almost seems like an understatement when it comes to Earl Thomas.
If we are judging him solely on his football ability, the case for him to be in Canton is clear. In nine years, Thomas defended 71 passes, recorded 30 interceptions, forced 12 fumbles, and had 713 sacks. He was named to seven Pro Bowls, named to the All-Pro team three times, is a member of the 2010’s All-Decade Team, and has a Super Bowl ring.
But I can’t imagine the off the field/locker room issues won’t factor into the minds of voters. No, Canton isn’t filled with saints. There have been players with far more checkered pasts than Thomas enshrined in the Hall. Still, it may be what prevents Thomas from being a sure-fire first ballot player that we all were convinced he would be one day.
