Cornelius Bennett considers his 14 seasons in the NFL to be worthy of a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But the Hall of Fame Selection Committee has not confirmed that yet.
The former Alabama All-American linebacker has been eligible for enshrinement since the Class of 2006, but he has not been selected for enshrinement.
For the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2025, Bennett was among the final 50 players considered for induction.
“I’ll never give up hope,” Bennett said on Sunday at the Grand Hotel Golf Resort and Spa, where he was attending the Class of 2025 induction ceremony for the Senior Bowl Hall of Fame, of which he is a member. “It’s a system that’s been around. You know, I can’t change the system. I don’t lose any sleep over it.
“Do I deserve to be in there? Most definitely. I’ve never shied away from that comment. I didn’t have 100 sacks, but you look at everything else I did on the football field, all the success I helped my team have. I was, to me, one of the most unselfish guys to ever play the game of football. I sacrificed positions, moving around so we could succeed. And that wasn’t by design. That’s who God made me out to be. And I’d do it all over again.
“If I have to wait another 10 years to get in there, so be it. I’m here. God has me healthy. You know, I’m vibrant. I can wait.”
After a career at Alabama that landed him in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005, Bennett entered the NFL as the second selection of the 1987 draft and played in 206 regular-season and 21 playoffs games over 14 seasons. Bennett played in four straight Super Bowls with the Buffalo Bills and another one with the Atlanta Falcons.
Bennett earned five Pro Bowl invitations and was a first-team All-Pro in 1988, when the UPI tabbed him as its NFL Defensive Player of the Year, an award he won again in 1991.
Bennett was a second-team pick on the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-Decade team for the 1990s. Junior Seau, former Auburn standout Kevin Greene and former Alabama standout Derrick Thomas were the first-team linebackers. They’re all in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Since he became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Bennett has annually been on the list of modern-era nominees.
But the Class of 2025 was Bennett’s last year to be selected for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in that way.
For the Class of 2026, Bennett’s Hall of Fame candidacy will be considered by the Seniors Screening Committee to start a process that will result in the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee advancing three players to finalist status for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee’s vote.
Bennett is changing status because the 2025 season will be the 25th since he retired, the limit for Modern-Era Committee consideration.
The three senior finalists, along with a coach finalist and a contributor finalist, will be considered by the Hall of Fame Selection Committee for the Class of 2026. Each member will be able to vote for three of the candidates, and candidates must be listed on 80 percent of the ballots to earn enshrinement.
This is a system used for the first time for the Class of 2025. In the past, the senior finalists were considered in the same vote as the modern-era finalists. Now they are voted on separately.
“I could care less how it happens,” Bennett said. “The thing about, you know, if the veterans side of it happens, it’ll give my grandkids the opportunity to see Pawpaw. I’m Pawpaw, Peepaw. I have four granddaughters, so it’ll give them a chance to witness what I did as a living.
“God has his way of doing things, and I’m patient enough. He’s given me that kind of patience to wait and see what happens.”
