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After the Pro Football Hall of Fame released its list of 2025 finalists, there was a chance for former Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but instead, he got snubbed.
Some fans claimed Eli Manning got snubbed, but Kuechly not being inducted might've been the biggest miss of the night — including Josh Allen's MVP.
One of the larger arguments against Kuechly is his lack of longevity in the NFL, lasting just eight seasons in the league before retiring.
Now, although he didn't claim that concussions were the reason for his retirement, there's logic to that idea. Kuechly suffered three concussions in his last three seasons, giving cause for concern about how his brain would heal after such abuse.
Something seen across the NFL — especially with players who are years and years removed from the game — is that concussions can have gnarly long-term effects on the player who withstood them.
And even if concussion data shows that the league is improving with brain injuries, they're still happening more than they should.
It might've been easier to brush off the headaches and push forward during his playing days, but concussions have proven to be a beast of an injury to overcome in the future.
And for Kuechly, he seemingly decided the concussions weren't worth the long-term effects, deciding to retire at the age of 28.
Now, when looking at his career with the Panthers, it's almost impossible to understand how he didn't get inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
In fact, Brett Kollmann — a big-time sports media content creator — was one of the people most baffled by the snub, as expressed on his social media page.
“Wait LUKE KUECHLY somehow didn’t make the Hall of Fame,” Kollmann wrote. “Luke Kuechly. Are you serious.”
And he was far from the only one shocked by Kuechly getting snubbed.
Another big sports content creator — and noted Panthers fan — Matt Sponhour kept it short when giving his opinion on Kuechly's snubbing on X.
“If Luke Keuchly had the exact same accolades but played another 5 years he probably would have made it,” Sponhour wrote.
As seen by Sponhour's post, something that seemed to bring a lot of confusion to the table was how Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was inducted into the Hall of Fame while Kuechly wasn't.
Comparing Hall of Fame careers between Brian Urlacher and Luke Kuechly
Now, one thing to keep in mind is that they weren't in the same class, so it wasn't like one beat out the other.
Urlacher — a staple in Bears history — was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2018, earning first-ballot honors.
While Kuechly can still make the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the future, not being inducted in his first year of eligibility takes some of the shine away.
Kuechly will be thankful to make the Hall of Fame when he does — because there's no doubt that he will as one of the NFL's best linebackers — but it likely stung a bit to miss out on being a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Especially when comparing the stats between Kuechly — who got snubbed — and Urlacher — who was a first-ballot inductee.
Luke Kuechly: 118 games, 1,092 tackles (690 solo, 402 assisted), 75 TFLs, 31 QB hits, 18 INTs, 12.5 sacks, seven Pro Bowls, five All-Pros, HOF All-2010s Team, 2013 Defensive Player of the Year, 2012 Defensive Rookie of the Year
Brian Urlacher: 182 games, 1,361 tackles (1,046 solo, 315 assisted), 138 TFLs, 41.5 sacks, 24 QB hits, 22 INTs, eight Pro Bowls, four All-Pros, HOF All-2000s Team, 2005 Defensive Player of the Year, 2000 Defensive Rookie of the Year
When looking at both careers, it's hard to see how one is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the other is a Hall of Fame snub.
Sure, Urlacher played 64 more games than Kuechly, but the statistical difference between both is rather minimal.
In those 64 extra games, Urlacher accounted for 269 more tackles, 63 more tackles for loss, 29 more sacks, seven fewer quarterback hits, one more Pro Bowl, and one fewer All-Pro.
The largest discrepancy between the two is sacks, which, Urlacher holds that lead by quite a few.
However, given the rest of their career numbers, it's rather shocking to see Kuechly miss out on being a first-ball Hall of Famer.
Now, Kuechly could get the nod in 2026, but, it likely won't hit the same as if he were to have gotten voted in as a first-ballot inductee.
And now that the dust has settled following the 2025 NFL Honors, it's fair to say Kuechly was snubbed.