As fans of the Green Bay Packers, we all know that the franchise has a much higher standard of success than most other teams in the league. Where other teams hang stadium banners for division championships, the Packers only recognize world championships. The standard for success is a much higher hill to climb in the land they call "Title Town," and the same standards apply to honored players. 

When you look at the list of players who have their numbers retired around the league and then compare some of those players to the players the Packers have numbers retired for, there's a big difference. Without naming names, some of these players' careers are equal to those that the Packers likely wouldn't award the honor. That's not to say they're undeserving, but it again shows the standard of the Packers vs the rest of the league. 

The greatest quarterback for one franchise may be leagues above another franchise in terms of career stats and success. Not all franchise honors are equal. But when it comes time for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, they are all inducted equally. But it begs the question, should they be?

At first, it seems silly to think about it. If a player, coach, or contributor had a Hall of Fame career, they get in; that's it. But then you look at the varying careers and the players who just barely made the cut alongside some of the best to ever do it. Not to mention, those who are seemingly snubbed due to the lack of a Super Bowl ring, or those who seem to make it in because they have a ring. 

Let's take two examples from the same era. Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner. Peyton Manning is arguably a top 5 quarterback of all time. Kurt Warner was an underdog turned Hall of Famer. Both are good quarterbacks, but when you compare the two, there's no doubt that Peyton Manning eclipses Warner in every facet. But both of their Hall of Fame busts sit in the same room, with no difference between the two. 

Should there be a difference between Hall of Famers?

Ranking the Greats

There's always been a particular honor bestowed on some of the best to do it, and that is making them a unanimous, surefire first-ballot Hall of Famer in their first year of eligibility. But as we've recently seen with the Bill Belichick first-ballot snub, and possibly a rumor of a Tom Brady first-ballot snub down the line, this honor can be tainted.

What if there were ranks amongst those in the hall of fame? 

This consideration would be granted based on career accolades. You have your Hall of Famers and your unanimous Hall of Famers. The legends among legends. There is no doubt, they belong in the hall right away as the absolute best of the best, and then those after. 

The Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame has around seven quarterbacks. Three of those have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Consider the entire Pro Football Hall of Fame to be like the Packers hall of Fame. Those players may be some of the best the Packers have ever seen, but are they the best the NFL has seen? Then take even those players and choose who are some of the best the Hall of Fame has ever seen? 

When you look at what you don't want the Pro Football Hall of Fame to become, look no further than the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For many years, the Rock Hall has been deemed broken. You have industry executives holding grudges and making sure deserving bands or singers don't make it in, regardless of accolades. We don't have that yet in terms of players/coaches getting into the hall altogether, but it seems that we have that situation when it comes to granting them a "best of the best" honor. And that's why perhaps that type of honor needs some retooling. 

Of course, part of the beauty of the Hall of Fame is that once you're in, you're an equal part of the family forever. But whether you're deemed the best of the best when you enter shouldn't be up for some writers or former league executives to decide. They simply decide whether or not you get in, and then once you're in, you're placed amongst the best of the hall based on your career. 

If we're going to have an honor for the best amongst even the hall of famers, it should be earned during the career that is being honored, not the ballot of a possible grudge holder.