It is never too early to start thinking about who should be Canonized in Canton, Ohio. On Wednesday morning, the initial list of nominees to be considered for the 2025 Hall of Fame class was released. Among the 167 players nominated, there are several first time nominees, including a face quite familiar to fans of the Seattle Seahawks.
Beloved running back Marshawn Lynch, for the first time, has been nominated as a potential enshrinee in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, a player needs to be at least five full seasons removed from when they last played in the NFL. For Lynch, who last took the field for the Seahawks for the final three games (one regular season, two playoff outings) of the 2019 season, this certainly meets the eligibility requirement.
Lynch played for three teams, but should he make it to Canton he will undoubtedly go in as a Seattle Seahawk. Of the 12 years of his career (fitting, isn’t it?) he was certainly best known for his seven in Seattle. He was the undispited face of the franchise, the man who put the new-era Seahawks on the map with his iconic “Beast Quake” run in the 2010 playoffs… only to do it again in the 2014 season with another similar run.
During his career, Lynch barreled his way to 10,413 yards, 85 rushing touchdowns and nine more through the air. In the playoffs, Lynch accoutned for another 970 yards on the ground with 12 (again, fitting) touchdowns. Lynch has also technically received some recognition from Canton, as he is a member of the 2010’s All-Decade Team.
Lynch’s 10,413 regular season yards are only 29th all time in the league for rushing yards, but they are more than other Hall of Famers in Joe Perry, Earl Campbell, Jim Taylor, Larry Csonka and Terrell Davis. I am also of the belief raw statistics alone should not be the only qualifying factor to make it to Canton. The Hall of Fame isn’t just a way to honor legends, it is a museum, a monument to the history of professional football. How one contributes to the overall story of professional football should absolutely be factored in. With that in mind, it is simply impossible to tell the story of the NFL without mentioning Marshawn Lynch.
Lynch also joins fellow Seattle Seahawks legend Shaun Alexander, who is once again a nominee for the Hall of Fame. I have been on the record for years that Alexander is more than deserving of enshrinement and remains one of the biggest snubs in recent memory.
Hopefully, the day will come where Lynch and Alexander will both have busts in Canton, as both have clearly earned it.
