After being elected on Feb. 6, Shannon Sharpe will join three other Denver Broncos greats in Canton. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)

As soon as Shannon Sharpe puts on the distinctive gold jacket and rubs his newly unveiled bronze bust, the Denver Broncos will officially have four members from the franchise enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The former tight end and current CBS Sports commentator will join quarterback John Elway, running back Floyd Little, and offensive lineman Gary Zimmerman as past members of the Broncos who have made it into the Hall of Fame. All of these men are quality representatives for the Broncos, but when you compare the amount of members from Denver in the Hall of Fame to the amount of members other teams have, it seems the historic franchise from the Mile High City should have a higher quantity of members in Canton. 

The Chicago Bears have 27 members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Green Bay Packers have 21. Several other teams have more than ten. To have only four members represent the Denver Broncos in the Hall is pretty lopsided. Add to that the fact that it took 41 classes of inductees before the first Broncos player in Elway was enshrined, it makes it almost insulting. Granted, the Broncos’ history books aren’t packed with a lot of big name coaches or superstar players that are household names, but they still have men that are deserving of at least being considered for the Hall of Fame. Case in point…
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Could any Broncos fan see owner Pat Bowlen doing this? My guess is no.
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Broncos alums Floyd Little and Shannon Sharpe are finalists for this year’s class and both deserve to be members of the elite group. John Elway and Gary Zimmerman are the only two Broncos to be enshrined into the HOF thus far. Many people see this as an injustice based on the Broncos success over the past few decades. As Woody Paige points out,

“ Only two teams have played in more Super Bowls than the Broncos, who have been to six in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. The Dallas Cowboys have played in eight, the Steelers seven. The Patriots also have reached six. Twenty Steelers, 16 Cowboys and four Patriots are in the Hall of Fame.” (Denver Post)

The HOF selection process will only spark more future debates. You see, the selection committee is made up of 44 voters. These voters select as many as 5 players, coaches, or contributors plus 2 senior committee candidates. As the list of eligible players, coaches, and committee members grow, the number of people allowed to be enshrined is staying the same. This is how the older guys like Steve Atwater and Randy Gradishar get overlooked more and more as the years pass.

There is a certain trend in the voting process. The “glory positions” get a lot of the votes. Thus, it seems the players who were on offense have a better chance at getting enshrined. The committee also considers how long players played (the reason why Terrell Davis isn’t in there yet) and who the player was playing with. If a wide receiver was catching balls from an elite QB, he is not as highly considered. They also take winning into consideration. That’s why a lot of Raiders are still waiting for their votes (ha ha ha). Finally, they don’t want to take too many players from one team. That’s going to spark some controversy when it comes time for some of the Patriots Super Bowl team members who are awaiting their turn.

I say increase the number of players let in every year. Yes, the HOF is a very elite group, but increasing the number to 7 players/coaches/contributors per year isn’t going to make a huge difference in the status of the Hall. It’s still very difficult to get in, but it will allow more players to be inducted who deserve to be there.

Find out if Floyd Little and Shannon Sharpe make it in today. The 2010 class will be announced at 5:00 p.m. ET.