- DeMarcus Ware has the shortest odds (-175) of any player to be inducted into the 2022 Hall Of Fame.
- Torry Holt and Devin Hester are both favored to make the cut.
- Jared Allen and Steve Smith are possible longshot bets that could cash in.
CANTON, Ohio – Betting odds are available for which former NFL players will make the Hall Of Fame as a part of the 2022 class, some of which may be surprising.
Every class has a couple of players that are assumed to be near locks, online gambling sites suggest there are no locks, but still a group of players more likely than the rest.
DeMarcus Ware (-175)
DeMarcus Ware is a Super Bowl Champion, four-time first-team All-Pro, two-time sack leader, a member of the 100 sacks club and a part of the 2000s All-Decade Team.
Ware is ninth all-time in sacks and has the second-highest sacks per game (.778) of any player in the top 10, only behind Reggie White (.853). Ware should make it, especially in what’s thought to be a weaker class.
Torry Holt (-125)
Torry Holt didn’t make it into the Hall Of Fame this year, but has another chance to do in 2022.
As a Super Bowl champion, receptions leader, two-time receiving yards leader and a member of the 2000s All-Decade team, there was a fair argument for him in 2021.
He has NFL records of most consecutive seasons with 1300+ yards (6), most receptions (868) and yards (12,594) in a single decade, and has the third-most receiving yards per game (77.4) in NFL history.
Many would say that’s a Hall Of Fame resume.
Devin Hester (-115)
Devin Hester is potentially the greatest special teams player to ever play in the NFL. If there’s a record about returning punts or kicks, odds are Hester is the owner.
He has the most combined return touchdowns, non-offensive touchdowns, punt return touchdowns, in a career as well as in a single season.
Given his role and Super Bowl opening kickoff return touchdown, there may never have been and might never be anyone more prolific. The -115 odds could be very intriguing for NFL betting fans.
Potential Plus-Money Options
Aside from the aforementioned three players, the available list consists of only players with plus-money value attached to their names.
Steve Smith Sr. (+700)
This may be the best value of any player available to bet on. Smith is eighth all-time in receiving yards and ahead of guys like Reggie Wayne and Andre Johnson, who are also eligible in this class.
To sum up Smith’s career, he led the league in receiving yards per game in 2008 despite his team being last in pass attempts and accounted for over 51% of the passing yards for his team.
In 2008, Steve Smith Sr became the only WR to lead the #NFL in receiving YPG despite being on an offense that was last in pass attempts pic.twitter.com/Oal8An4x0L
— NFL Stats (@NFL_Stats) May 11, 2021
Jared Allen (+250)
Jared Allen holds the NFL records for most consecutive games with a sack (11), most safeties (4) and is just one of seven athletes who has ever lead the league in sacks multiple times.
Since Allen is 12th all-time in sacks and only White, Ware and Kevin Greene have higher sacks per game numbers than him (.727), online sportsbooks may be undervaluing Allen’s ability to make the Hall Of Fame.