Terrell Owens' wait ends, as he announces he has made the Pro Football Hall of Fame

Frank Schwab
·NFL writer

MINNEAPOLIS — It took longer than it should have, but Terrell Owens’ football journey will end in Canton.

Owens, who was surprisingly not voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame his first two times as a finalist despite ranking among the all-time greats in many receiving categories, tweeted on Saturday night that he was told he is part of the Hall’s 2018 class.

Owens being left out twice became perhaps the most heated Pro Football Hall of Fame debate in years. The first time Owens was a finalist and didn’t get in, it was odd. The second time, it was frustrating. Owens spoke out against the process, saying it was “a total joke.”

“Honestly, doesn’t mean anything to me to get in beyond this point,” Owens tweeted last year.

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The résumé shouldn’t have been an issue. Owens was a five-time All-Pro. He’s eighth all-time with 1,078 receptions, second behind only Jerry Rice with 15,934 career receiving yards and third all-time with 153 receiving touchdowns. It’s impossible to look at his career stats and not believe Owens is a Hall of Famer. But feuds with various quarterbacks he played with and other assorted controversies in his career are part of his story too, and voters clearly held that against him.

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There was no hangup in Owens’ third time as a finalist. His play on the field was clearly worthy of a spot in the Hall of Fame, and his wait ended on Saturday night.

Terrell Owens was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third time. (AP)
Terrell Owens was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for the third time. (AP)

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Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!