Exclusive | Hall of Fame voters expect fireworks in complex Eli Manning induction debate

Soon enough, the 50 voters who make up the Pro Football Hall of Fame Selection Committee will meet via Zoom and they will have at it, as far as sorting through the 15 modern-era finalists eligible for enshrinement in Canton. One of the five players on the ballot for the first time is Eli Manning.Sure thing? Surely, not. Based on conversations with several voters, the former Giants quarterback and two-time Super Bowl champion is far from a slam dunk to get in this year.

The expectation is that the discussion about his candidacy could be polarizing and contain, in the estimation of one member of the selection committee, “some fireworks” — as those who are strongly opposed to Manning getting in his first year on the ballot air their grievances. There is statistical data to support Manning’s case, but also plenty of eye-test evidence, and a lack of honors and awards that hurt his case.His greatest claim to fame, of course, is the rare achievement of multiple Super Bowl MVPs — awards he garnered after the 2007 and 2011 seasons, as the Giants twice in four years upset Tom Brady and the Patriots en route to adding two Lombardi Trophies to their glass-enclosed case at the team facility.

Without those two playoff runs and Super Bowl heroics, Manning, despite his longevity and career passing numbers, does not get within hailing distance of the Hall of Fame. Of course, quarterbacks are often judged on championships and Manning has two of them — one coming in a titanic upset against an undefeated Patriots squad considered one of the best teams of all time. “Eli Manning is a Hall of Fame quarterback, and in my view he’s a first-ballot Hall of Fame quarterback,” Sal Paolantonio of ESPN, a Hall of Fame voter for the past 12 years, told The Post.“I think what puts him in that category is the two Super Bowl MVPs.

The fact that Eli won his two Super Bowls against the Patriots dynasty I think is important. “I haven’t talked to that many people about it...