Seattle Seahawks Legends Marshawn Lynch and Earl Thomas Debut on 2025 Hall of Fame Ballot

The 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions concluded on Saturday with Devin Hester, Patrick Willis, Julius Peppers, Andre Johnson, Randy Gradishar, Steve McMichael, and Dwight Freeney getting their busts in Canton.

Now that the Hall of Fame festivities are behind us, the question now becomes, who is next?

Eligible for the 2025 Hall of Fame ballot are Aqib Talib, Cameron Wake, Joe Staley, Clay Matthews, Marshal Yanda, Terrell Suggs, Adam Vinatieri, Luke Kuechly, and Eli Manning.

Plus, two Seahawks will make their debuts on the ballot. Earl Thomas and Marshawn Lynch were both instrumental in bringing Seattle their first Super Bowl trophy. Now, they are eligible for the Hall of Fame. What are their chances for enshrinement? Let’s dive in.

With the 14th overall selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, the Seahawks picked the standout safety from Texas, Earl Thomas. He became an instant starter and was a staple in the Seattle secondary for the next eight-plus seasons. Between 2011 and 2015, he earned five straight Pro Bowl nods and three consecutive First Team All-Pro selections. Through his nine seasons in Seattle, he earned at least Second Team All-Pro honors in five of them.

During Seattle’s Super Bowl run in 2013, he put together a season worthy of player of the year consideration. In 16 games, he tallied 105 tackles and pulled in five interceptions. Eventually, that earned him third place in Defensive Player of the Year Award voting. He put together three separate seasons of five interceptions.

He assembled a similar Hall of Fame resume to current Hall of Famer John Lynch. The former Bucs and Broncos safety earned nine Pro Bowl nods with four All-Pro seasons. Thomas has seven Pro Bowls and five All-Pro seasons. Lynch had 26 interceptions and Thomas had 30. Both of them notched one Super Bowl title. Thomas even played in one more playoff game than John Lynch, both with two interceptions in the postseason. Thomas has a compelling argument for Canton.

Unfortunately, his playing career in Seattle ended on a sour note, with him being carted off the field due to injury and making an inappropriate gesture towards the Seahawks sidelines. He signed a deal with the Ravens ahead of the 2019 season and put together another Pro Bowl-caliber year.

During the 2020 preseason, the Ravens abrutptly released Thomas due to “personal conduct that has adversely affected the Baltimore Ravens.” Between 2020 and 2022, several troubling incidents occurred, including his wife being arrested after holding him at gunpoint and him being arrested after he violated a court protective order by sending messages to a woman about her and her children. He never saw the field in the NFL again after 2019.

Given how his career ended and some of the off-field issues he’s had, some may hold that against him in voting. However, no one can deny Thomas was clearly one of the best football players of the 2010s decade. In fact, he was voted part of the coveted Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2010 Team. That bodes well for induction someday.

“Beast Mode” is one of the most interesting football players to ever play in the NFL. On one hand, he was constantly aloof with the media. On the other, he was one of the most captivating running backs of this generation. A product of Oakland, California and a standout at Cal, Lynch took a less direct journey to Seahawks stardom compared to Thomas.

The Buffalo Bills drafted Lynch 12th overall in 2007 and he became a Pro Bowler in 2008. Before even slipping on the Seahawks uniform for the first time, Lynch had already put together two 1,000-yard seasons in Buffalo. The Seahawks traded for Lynch in the middle of Pete Carroll’s first year of 2010.

Fans remember the run to the playoffs that year, with Lynch punctuating it with one of the most memorable individual runs in NFL history. How many players have a play with an iconic nickname? The Immaculate Reception. The Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLIII. The Catch by Clark from Montana.

Then there’s “Beast Quake.” Lynch helped the Seahawks seal a playoff win against the defending Super Bowl champion Saints with a 67-yard touchdown run where he broke nine different tackles. The score sent then-Qwest Field into such a frenzy, that it registered on the local seismograph charts that usually measure earthquakes.

But to be a Hall of Famer, you need more than just one big play. Lynch has big moments in spades. He helped lead one of the most physical running games in recent memory as Seattle bullied their way to back-to-back Super Bowls, with one championship.

As a running back, he needs career totals to measure up to the all-time greats. He has that. While he is just 29th in career rushing yards (still higher than Earl Campbell, Shaun Alexander, and Terrell Davis), he ranks 17th in touchdowns, ahead of Hall of Famers Edgerrin James, Tony Dorsett, and Earl Campbell. Plus, he did serious damage in the postseason and currently sits fourth all-time in postseason rushing touchdowns.

He adds five Pro Bowls and two All-Pro seasons to his resume. His run between 2011 and 2014 will be tough to match for any modern running back, averaging over 1,600 yards and 14 touchdowns from scrimmage in that four-season window. He also holds more than 15 Seahawks franchise records.

Off the field, Lynch has had a a few driving-related incidents with police, most recently a DUI charge in August of 2022. But he’s also done a lot of good, raising money for local charities and starting his own business. He remains a captivating character in pop culture, making appearances in shows like Brooklyn 99, The Great American Baking Show, and more.

Lynch has a strong case for the Hall of Fame. Indeed, his coldness to the media as a player might turn off some. But the numbers are tough to ignore and his peak years are unmatched in the 2010s decade. Which, like Thomas, earned him a spot on the Pro Football Hall of Fame All-2010 Team. He may not be a first ballot Hall of Famer, with plenty of legends of the game on the ballot, including rollovers that just missed the cut in 2024, but he makes a compelling argument to have a bust in Canton in the coming few years.