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Winning a Super Bowl is the ultimate goal for each and every player that passes through the NFL. Yet such a goal is not an easy one to accomplish given the nature of the league.
Football is the ultimate team sport and superstar players may not be enough to will an entire team to a championship. A cohesive roster run by a great coaching staff is also needed to manage the entire roster and make sure everyone is playing to their respective strengths.
Such storylines have been around for years, so here are the top 5 NFL Hall of Famers who have never won a Super Bowl.
Top 5 NFL Hall of Famers without a Super Bowl win
#5 - Barry Sanders
Barry Sanders is the gold standard when it comes to NFL running backs. He made the Pro Bowl in all 10 of his NFL seasons and never finished a year under 1,000 yards. Unfortunately, his Detroit Lions did not win a single playoff game in his decade of play.
His early retirement was a shock to the NFL world and perhaps it had to do with the lack of positive direction with the franchise. Regardless, Sanders racked up over 15,000 yards in 10 seasons and was a rare non-quarterback to take home NFL MVP honors.
His talent on another team may have prevented him from making this list. But one thing Sanders never did was take a game off, even if the Lions were rather awful during his tenure.
#4 - Randy Moss
Randy Moss is one of the greatest receivers in NFL history and was a lock for the Hall of Fame. He is enshrined with over 15,000 career receiving yards and 156 touchdowns.
His best chance of winning a title came during his time with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. He sure got close, but Eli Manning and the New York Giants ruined his hopes in a thrilling Super Bowl that has gone down as one of the best ever.
Moss is a Minnesota Vikings legend and arguably the most fun big-bodied receiver to watch in NFL history. Him not winning a Super Bowl proves that talent alone at a skill position is not enough to reach that ultimate goal.
#3 - Bruce Smith
Someone on the Buffalo Bills had to make this NFL list given the team made four consecutive Super Bowls, only to lose all four. Bruce Smith was the biggest star of the bunch and a key reason why the team was so dominant.
Smith made nine All-Pro teams and 11 Pro Bowls during his long tenure with the Bills. He finished his career with exactly 200 sacks, making him a lock for the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, as is the case with so many stars on the Bills in the 1980s and the 1990s, Smith never won a Super Bowl.
But the team never would have gotten to four championship games in the first place if the former No. 1 overall pick hadn't played up to his potential.
#2 - Fran Tarkenton
Fran Tarkenton is one of the first great quarterbacks in NFL history and is the second Minnesota Vikings legend on this list. He made nine Pro Bowls during his legendary career and was the MVP in 1975. What he did with the football set the stage for all the great quarterbacks in the game today.
The early 1970s were Tarkenton's best shot to win it all. The Vikings made three Super Bowls, only to lose all three. All three losses came by double-digit margins. This does not take away anything from the quarterback's career, but once again proves the team-wide effort required to win a Super Bowl.
#1 Dan Marino
Dan Marino is one of the best NFL players in the history of the game and yet he only made a single Super Bowl in his career. That came in his second season, in 1984, and his Miami Dolphins never made it back with him under center.
Marino was a six-time All-Pro, nine-time Pro Bowler who won the MVP in 1984. He joined a stacked Dolphins team and was a regular fixture in the postseason. For some reason, he just couldn't take that next step after the 1984 season.
The Dolphins great comes up in any discussion about NFL legends who never won a Super Bowl. However, the lack of a title does not take away from the career he had in Miami. That franchise is wishing they had a player like him right now.
