The Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the few NFL teams that still value loyalty. Fans were privileged to watch players like Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward start and finish their pro football careers with the Steelers, and we may soon see the same with Cameron Heyward. For some of these retired stars, like Ben Roethlisberger, we're now on 'Hall of Fame' watch.
Roethlisberger will be eligable for the Hall of Fame next year in 2027. The question everyone wants to know is: Will he get in on the first ballot, like Polamalu, or will he have to wait his turn in a long list of NFL greats who haven't received their gold jacket yet?
For Steelers fans, the answer seems obvious—Big Ben deserves a bust in Canton. But getting in on the first try might not be so simple.
On February 9, Jamie Eisner of The Draft Network posted early 2027 Hall of Fame odds from Bet Online. Of the talented list of phenomenal ex-NFL players, Roethlisberger has the third-best chances of getting in on the first ballot next year with +140 odds.
Ahead of him on this list are a pair of irrefutable names: Rob Gronkowski and Adrian Peterson. Grok is widely considered by many to be the best tight end in NFL history, while Peterson did enough with the Vikings to cement himself as one of the best running backs of all-time. Gronkowski is a shoo-in with -2500 odds, while Peterson is an essential lock at -1500 odds.
With two future Hall of Fame inductees confidently ahead of Roethlisberger next year, his path to first-ballot entry feels murky.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger has an outside chance to enter the Hall of Fame on the first ballot
Roethlisberger is going to get into the Hall of Fame eventually—I don't think oddsmakers and experts have any doubt about that. However, it seems unlikely that he will be fitted for his jacket in 2027.
At +140 odds, oddsmakers believe there is less than a 50% percent chance Big Ben gets into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. And quite frankly, that's probably how it should be.
Despite his impressive postseason resume and pair of Super Bowl victories, Roethlisberger was never considered one of the top three players in the NFL at his position. That title routinely belonged to players like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers.
Thus, if we believe that first-ballot honors should be reserved for the very best of the best during a player's playing days, that wasn't Ben Roethlisberger (as much as it pains some of us to admit that).
Only a few players, tops, each year (if any), get in on the first ballot, and generally just four to eight players are selected into the HOF annually. Roethlisberger is unlikely to be an exception to the rule.
Stranger things have happened (like New England Patriots coaching legend Bill Belichick getting snubbed as a first-ballot Hall of Famer). Still, based on the early odds and knowing how this process goes, Pittsburgh Steelers fans shouldn't hold their breath that Ben Roethlisberger will enter the Hall of Fame on his first year of eligibility in 2027.