Former Saints cornerback Eric Allen has been selected a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025.
Allen’s brief stint in New Orleans lasted from 1995 until 1997.
Eric Allen, the former New Orleans Saints cornerback, has been chosen a semifinalist for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class for the sixth time in his 19th year of eligibility. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame five years after retirement and have a 20-year window to be elected, so this is one of Allen’s final opportunities to receive this coveted award.
The 30th overall pick of the 1988 NFL Draft spent the first seven seasons of his career in the City of Brotherly Love with the Philadelphia Eagles, before the All-Rookie defensive back relocated to the Big Easy in 1995 as the once-highest-paid cornerback in the league. He spent three seasons with the Saints before finishing his last four campaigns with the Oakland Raiders.
Allen, a 3x All-Pro and 6x Pro Bowl selection (1x with NO) over the span of his 14-year career, recorded 494 total tackles (433 solo—159 TOT with NO), 120 passes broken up (33 with NO), 54 interceptions (21st all-time—5 INTs with NO), eight defensive touchdowns,
Six fumble recoveries, five forced fumbles, three sacks, and 217 games played (48 with the NO). During his 1993 season with Philadelphia, he had four pick-sixes, which set an NFL record at the time.
Allen chose to put his playing skills to use in 2002, when he joined ESPN as an NFL studio analyst and appeared on Pac-12 Networks football broadcasts and the Sports Report.
He was named to the Philadelphia Eagles’ 75th Anniversary Team in 2007 and inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2011. Allen was also recognized into his alma institution Arizona State University’s Hall of Fame in 2008 and Ring of Honor in 2014.
Hopefully, this is the year that Allen gets his well-deserved accolades and can finally join his classmates.
