The Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce the 2016 class of inductees Saturday evening, and the San Francisco 49ers could be represented by Eddie DeBartolo and/or Terrell Owens. Former 49ers great Ronnie Lott took a few minutes with me recently to discuss a variety of topics, including TO's case for the Hall of Fame. I asked him if he thought TO would get in on the first ballot or if "the other stuff" that was much discussed during his career might force him to wait. Here's what Lott had to say:
First of all, "the other stuff", to me, the other stuff wasn't important to me. What's important to me is what he did on the field, how he affected the game, and what he brought to the game. The other stuff that he brought to the game made him a very, very talented receiver for the time that he was in the league. When he first came to the 49ers, he didn't get on the field. So it's hard for me to sit here and say Terrell Owens was a Hall of Famer when Jerry Rice, the first day he got to practice, everybody said, "he's a player." When John Taylor first came to practice, everybody said "he's a player." Terrell Owens worked his way into being that. And as we all know, he worked his way into being a guy who has all the credentials of being a Hall of Famer.
Will he get in the Hall of Fame? Yes. He will be in the Hall of Fame at some point. Will he be a first ballot Hall of Famer? I don't know. And that's hard for me to say, because he had the credentials. He's worked his way to have all the credentials that you would need. But is he better than Tim Brown? No. And so for me, when I start comparing him to all the guys I know that have played the game, good football player. Good football player. Talented football player. A guy that I really enjoyed watching, a guy that I really admire, a guy that I know a little bit, met him a couple times. I had some of those little nugget moments in your life when you meet someone and think, yea, he's gonna be there.
So, I'm rooting for him. It would be great if he's in as a first-timer, but I have a feeling that it's probably not. And if he doesn't, he will be in eventually.