On Sat. Aug. 2, 2025, legendary pass rusher Jared Allen was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with three other fortunate gentlemen who each had incredible careers in their own rights. Along with a wideout whose career was shortened due to a debilitating neck injury(Sterling Sharpe), a solid cornerback who was best known for having a lot of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns in his career(Eric Allen) and the leading TD-receiver among tight ends in NFL history(Antonio Gates), Jared Allen was finally voted into the Hall after waiting for five voting cycles after he first became eligible for enshrinement. With 136 career sacks ranking for 12th most all-time(or since sacks became an official stat in 1982), Allen was one of the best edge rushers in gridiron history and one of the greatest pass rushers of his generation. Now Allen is the most-recent player who spent the majority of his career playing as a Minnesota Viking to receive the greatest honor any football player can ever achieve. He received the news at his home in Nashville, Tenn from the most-recent Vikings HOF enshrinee and former teammate Steve Hutchinson, who was inducted into the museum of football busts in Canton, Oh., as part of the class of 2020. Allen admitted that this was a bit “overdue”, but when compared with the long waits that Sterling Sharpe and Eric Allen had to endure it was a short waiting period for the great edge rusher who also played in Kansas City, Chicago and Carolina in his professional career.

Jared’s career was a very good one and long one in terms of dominance and sustained success. Allen was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004 after playing his college years at Idaho State University and he was regarded as a good pass rusher in an era when the offensive linemen were so powerful and it was hard to sack the quarterback as easily as it is today. Starting in 2007, Allen started to reach the height of his talents as he started recording double-digit sacks in a stretch that would span his entire six-year tenure with the Vikings, who made a big gamble in acquiring him via a trade from Kansas City in exchange for a first-round pick and two third-round picks. That trade yielded good fruit for the Chiefs, who used one of those third-rounders to select RB Jamaal Charles, but the Vikings undoubtedly won the trade by adding Allen to an already formidable defense that included defenders such as Chad Greenway, Kevin Williams, Brian Robison and Antoine Winfield Sr. In his first season in purple, Jared accumulated 14.5 sacks, had 3 forced fumbles and picked up a pair of safeties. Allen’s first sack as a Viking was against Peyton Manning and his final snaps as a Viking occurred in the final game in the Hubert H. Humphrey MetroDome’s history. At the MetroDome, Allen became a folk hero among the thousands of Vikings fans who saw him play for eight games a year and perform massively. Allen never missed a game in purple in spite of all the pain that he suffered through. Probably the most notable moment of Allen’s time as a Viking is a play when he didn’t even have to sack the QB, as his sheer presence in the end zone forced Dan Orlovsky of the Detroit Lions to step on the out-of-bounds line to give the Vikings two easy points.

Allen always had his signature sack celebration of going down to a knee and throwing his arms up in the air. Jared also nearly set the all-time single sack record for a full regular season in a game on Jan. 1, 2012 against the Chicago Bears, but he came up a half-sack short of Michael Strahan’s record in having 22 sacks for the entire 2011 season. Allen was a part of three playoff teams for the Vikings, who fell short of the Super Bowl in 2009 due to the New Orleans Saints getting away with their BountyGate scheme that their defense executed against Brett Favre in the NFC Championship Game. Jared couldn’t quite get to future Hall of Famer Drew Brees enough times on the other side, so there was that as well. Having seven consecutive seasons with double-digit sacks from 2007-13, Allen was one of the most feared and unstoppable defenders in the game. Jared eventually moved onto Chicago to be with the Bears, but the pain that he had contained in Minnesota had finally caught up with him and he missed a lot of games for a sloppy team in the Windy City. Allen was traded in the middle of the 2015 season to the Carolina Panthers, who would go all the way to win the NFC Championship Game and play in Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, Calif, just an hour or so away from his family’s ranch in the town of Los Gatos, Calif. Jared nearly went out a champ, but the Panthers were beaten by the Denver Broncos, who had Peyton Manning as their QB. That game proved to be the final one in both careers of “The Sheriff” and a guy who loves riding horses wearing a fine Stetson cowboy hat. Allen’s official retirement would feature a return back to the team that he was most known for being a star with in the Vikings, who signed him to an honorary one-day contract on Apr. 14, 2016. In five years’ time, he would be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame voting process.

But Jared had to wait as he was not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. He also didn’t have any luck in 2022, 2023 or 2024 in having his name announced or getting a door knock leading up to when the announcement of selected members into a Hall of Fame class occurs at the NFL Honors Award show during Super Bowl week. However, this past season in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX, something magical happened. When the Hall of Fame announcements began, the image of Jared Allen’s face came up onto the screen, meaning he would be the first one to give his speech on Induction Ceremony Day on the first Saturday of August. Jared Allen was finally going into the Hall of Fame as an exclusive member of the Class of 2025, finally joining fellow Vikings defensive legends such as Alan Page, Carl Eller and John Randle. Jared had already been inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor in the middle of the 2022 season and now he had attained the ultimate achievement of being a Pro Football Hall of Fame member. This was definitely an amazing moment for the Vikings at the NFL Honors Award show this past February along with Kevin O’Connell being named Coach of the Year for the 2024 season.

So the Hall of Fame Weekend came and Jared Allen got his Gold Jacket on Fri. Aug, 1 at a special nighttime event for all the enshrinees in the Class of 2025. Allen was first to speak, but it occurred after an honorary 100th birthday celebration for the legendary head coach of the Buffalo Bills Marv Levy, who became a centenarian on Sun. Aug 3. Also Chris Berman was celebrated for being the master of ceremonies for 25 different Hall of Fame Classes and received a football recognizing that accomplishment. Boomer then introduced Jared Allen and and mentioned some of his career accomplishments, including the “Buck Buchanan Award” while playing at Idaho State, which is a member of the Football Championship Subdivision. Berman mentioned that Allen never missed a game in his six seasons as a Vikings edge rusher and he was described as a “player who can wreck a football game”. Jared was also praised as being a good “every-down defensive edge rusher who could play the run just as proficiently as he did the pass”. Allen was also “very proficient in the charisma department” and also played with a broken foot in Super Bowl 50, the final game of his career. Allen is also the leader in forcing safeties, with four of them in his career including the memorable Dan Orlovsky stepping on the line one. Boomer then concluded by saying that Jared would be presented with his Hall of Fame bust by his dad, Ron Allen, who is a cowboy rancher himself.

A video clip of Jared’s father was shown and Ron Allen said that Jared was one of those types of people who proves people wrong when they say that he can’t do something. Clips of Jared sacking some QBs throughout his career(most of whom are no longer playing in the NFL) were shown, with Ron saying that Jared was hoping that he would be drafted in the second or third round of the 2004 draft, but instead was selected in the fourth round with the 126th overall pick by the Chiefs. Jared’s self-motivation was described as fueling him to be a player who transformed the defensive end position. Ron Allen described his son’s playing style that featured “a good first step off the ball, had a long reach… combined with the technique, skill, strength”. Ron Allen said that one of his favorite games that his son played in occurred on Monday Night Football in 2009 against the Green Bay Packers when Jared had four and a half sacks against a young Aaron Rodgers. In his playing career, Allen also had five Pro Bowl selections and made it onto four All-Pro teams. Ron Allen expressed his emotional gratitude towards his son being honored as a Pro Football Hall of Famer and concluded by saying “I am honored and privileged to present my son Jared Allen for enshrinement into the Pro Football Hall of Fame”.

Jared Allen then walked onto the stage and his dad Ron came up on the other side, giving his son a hug as they both wore their Stetson cowboy hats. Jared tipped his hat to the crowd and both father and son took off the covered veil to reveal the bust, which was a perfect likeness of what Jared look like in his playing career. The bronze bust nailed the mullet of the defensive star and even got the facial features correct, down to the moles on the right side of his face. The Vikings fans in attendance along with everyone else clapped in celebrating the achievement and Jared hugged his father before going to the podium to give his speech, which wasn’t the longest one but it was very emotional.

Jared started out with humor by saying “You think they’d figure out we’re tall on this stage?” Jared then thanked the Hall of Fame, the volunteers helping put on the event and the fans who were able to make it to Canton. Allen then expressed his gratitude to being with all of the other enshrinees present, who were actually wearing T-shirts with Hall of Fame patches on them and not their gold jackets. Jared then thanked all of the brave men and women who serve the United States of America and their protection of our country “making a day like today possible”. Jared Allen then went into the main body of his speech, opening with questions that people had asked him about how he had achieved the honor of being a Hall of Famer coming from where he grew up. Jared said sarcastically that he had made stuff up about how he became a talented football player in saying stuff like “You gotta eat three jalapeño peppers before every game because you gotta have a burning in your gut”.

Allen said that he was a PR marketing graduate in college and he quoted his family and friends by saying “Why in earth is a guy who dropped out of college twice talking about his college major?” Allen then said that the reason he was a PR marketing major was because there’s this concept in marketing and branding called “Sell Your Why”. Allen said there’s a million whats in this world due to the “what” of a person being their “product”, “but the why is what makes you different. The Why is your long game. It’s what drives you to get up and take whatever steps necessary to achieve your goal”. Jared Allen said that his “Why” could be summed up with three things, which are fear, respect and the pursuit of greatness. Jared continued “When I’m talking about fear, I’m not talking about that type of fear that cripples you and makes you avoid something. I’m talking about that healthy fear of failure. That fear which motivates you to do whatever you can to succeed”. Jared added that the fear he was talking about was the type that “lets you get knocked down and then realize you don’t want to get knocked down again, so you pick yourself up, you learn and you improve”.

Allen then went onto describe respect and how he played football for only two reasons, which were the “respect of my peers and the respect of those who came before me”. Jared then said that he would never forget the day when he got an email message from Jack Youngblood, the legendary hall of fame pass rusher, who told him he thought “I play the game the right way”. Jared said that compliment from Youngblood is worth more than any All-Pro he ever received, with the crowd clapping hearing that. Allen then went onto describe “the pursuit of greatness”, saying “When you respect something or someone so much that you want to honor that thing or that person by being the best you can possibly be, that was why I had the NFL sack leaders taped up on my locker every season”. Allen eventually achieved that goal in being the sack-leader over an entire season in 2011. Jared said that he applied his “Why” to everything in his life, “to my walk with Christ, to my marriage, to being a father…” The cameras then showed Jared Allen’s wife, Amy, who was wearing sunglasses along with their two daughters Brinley and Lakelyn.

Jared then said another fun fact about him was that he loved history, adding “I actually changed my major to history before I dropped out for the second time”. Jared then said that he asked Jim Porter, the current president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, why gold was chosen to be the color of the Hall of Fame jacket(a good point since the busts are mostly made of bronze), thinking there might be a different reason other than gold represents the best. Jared said “Surprisingly there was not. So I like to believe it’s because gold is a reflective metal because none of us stand on this stage alone”. Jared then said that the jacket he was wearing is a “direct reflection of all of you who have poured into my life and into my career. I might be the one wearing this jacket, but I hope every time you see this jacket, you see yourself”.

Jared then proceeded to thank the fans for showing up “rain, shine or snow” and for spending their “hard earned money to come watch us play. It’s because of you that we have jobs and that this is the greatest sport on Earth”. Allen then proceeded to thank all of the organizations that he played for, starting with the last team he played football with in the Carolina Panthers, whom he said “Thank you for making the trade and allowing me to finish my career with my hand in the dirt”. Allen expressed his appreciation for playing in Super Bowl 50 “in my hometown”, or close to it at least. Allen then awkwardly thanked the Bears, with the fans laughing when he said “Em, well!” Jared said that he was teasing and added “When you blow your back out, blow your L5 out… I don’t think they were too happy either”. Jared praised the Halas family by saying that football would not exist without them and added a shoutout to Kevin Warren, who is now the president of football operations for the jaded old franchise in Chicago and Allen said “I wish you all the best when you guys play, except for the Vikings”. Referring to Vikings games as both teams are division rivals, Allen moved onto the team that drafted him in the Kansas City Chiefs in thanking the Hunt family for making “an eight year-old kid’s dream come true”. Allen praised the Chiefs as a storied franchise and he said that he would never forget the embraces that the late great owner of the Kansas City franchise Lamar Hunt would give after every single game. Allen added in referring to Hunt, who died in 2006, “It didn’t matter if you were half-naked or fully dressed, he was going to give you a big ol’ bear hug and tell you he appreciated you”. Jared Allen then concluded by thanking the Vikings and all the Vikings fans present at the ceremony at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium stood up and cheered loudly. Allen then said “So as a Norseman by blood, it was only fitting that I became a Viking” and thanked his agent “Glaze” for avoiding some tampering issues when the trade between Minnesota and Kansas City happened in the 2008 offseason. Allen then thanked Vikings general manager Rick Spielman, Rob Brzezinski, Kevin Warren, Brad Childress and others along with the entire Wilf family. Allen added “I don’t think I can truly express the depths of my gratitude to your entire organization”. The cameras then showed Brad Childress sitting at a table near the podium and watched on as Allen continued his incredible speech.

Jared then said that he was a “firm believer that God puts people in your life at the appropriate times” and told Childress “What you did for the growth of my career but more importantly the people you surrounded me with in that organization helped me grow as a man”. Allen explained that was why he would forever call the Vikings “my home”, with the fans cheering on as current general manager of the Vikings Kwesi Adofo-Mensah was shown sitting next to Childress. Allen then expressed his thanks to his coaches, which included Pat McGrady(his Pop Warner coach), Mark Rey and Larry Lewis(his Idaho state coaches, who took him from outside linebacker and told him, “Hey, why don’t we put your hand in the dirt for a week?”, referring to the stance that all defensive linemen take at the line of scrimmage), Dick Vermeil, Herm Edwards, Brad Childress, Leslie Frazier, John Fox and Ron Rivera. Jared praised his position coaches as well, which included the late-great Bob Karmelowitz(who died in 2010). Jared described that Bob was a master of technique and that they would spend countless hours talking about strategies such as manipulating offensive tackles “to get what you could get to gain fractions of a second in the rush”. Jared also thanked his strength coach with the Vikings and then moved on to thanking his teammates, whom he said “Seven of them are wearing Gold Jackets”. He honored Willie Roaf, Will Shields and Steve Hutchinson as tough-minded offensive tackles that he had to face in practice, gaining a scar on his rib cage from Will Shields and Willie Roaf picked him up off the field in a practice drill back in the day. Allen said that the jacket he was wearing wasn’t just a representation of being one of the best defensive ends in the league, but “one of the best D-linemen in our room”. Allen referred to the “Williams Wall” of Pat Williams and Kevin Williams pushing him to new levels when he first played as a Viking, and he gave a shoutout to Kevin Williams saying that he couldn’t wait to be sitting on the stage at a future Hall of Fame celebration for him. Allen then thanked his fellow defensive teammates such as Ben Leber, Chad Greenway, Charles “Peanut” Tillman and Antoine Winfield who always had his back and “allowed me to play free up front”.

Allen proceeded to thank his agent Kim and his “financial guy” Jeff, who he told that they were two of the best teammates he ever had. Jared then moved onto his actual family, starting with his dad Ron Allen, who he used a Bible verse to refer to his spirit of strength and love. Jared told his dad “You’re a constant example of hard work, you taught me work ethic, and most importantly your consistent belief in me gave me the confidence to achieve greatness, and I love you for that”.

The crowd cheered as Jared went onto his mom, telling her that she is always a source of compassion and grace. Jared then went onto thank his step-father Vic, who he told “Whether you knew it or not, you taught me so much. You’ve been successful in everything you do and by watching you, I learned about process”.

Allen then moved onto his wife Amy and referred to something that he heard their marriage counselor tell them in their premarital counseling, which was “The two most important decisions you make in your life is one, whether you follow Jesus or not, and two is whom you marry”. Jared told his wife that she is a “true game elevator”, adding emotionally “you’re one of the smartest people I know, I am in awe of you every single day and I love you more than life itself”.

Jared then concluded by addressing his “amazing daughters” Brinley and Lakelyn as he started wiping tears away from his face. Jared said “Through this process, the word legacy has been talked about a lot. The Hall… is here to tell my story”. Jared then told his daughters “Well, I’m here to tell you two you are my greatest accomplishments. When I get called home to Heaven one day, if all they talk about is this gold jacket, my career, then I failed miserably as a father, a husband and a friend”.

Jared told Brinley and Lakelyn, who both were emotional hearing this, “You two are my legacy. You are both so talented, and I cannot wait to see what you decide to do in the economy of this world”. Jared concluded by saying “So always put Christ first, find your Why, dream your dreams, and always pursue greatness in whatever you do. Thank you all and may God bless you all.”

That was an incredible induction speech by Jared Allen, who got emotional at the end and he received a massive ovation from the fans in attendance. Allen’s football legacy is now forever cemented in the halls of the museum in Canton, Ohio, with his bust joining the ones of legends still living and those who have passed away. His legacy as a person is still to be determined, but as he said he should be remembered as a good father and husband just as much as he shall be commemorated as a talented edge rusher. His emotional speech was followed up by Sterling Sharpe’s powerful one, in which he gave his Hall of Fame gold jacket to his brother Shannon, who was wearing his Gold Jacket on this day. Eric Allen’s speech was solid but not as emotionally raw. The most emotionally raw speech of them all probably came from Antonio Gates, who had to stop and use a towel to wipe the tears from his face as he described his emotional love to his family and how they keep him going strong every single day. So, Jared Allen finally received his place in Canton, the next question is how many of his teammates will join him in the future? There are plenty of worthy ones, but in the end the voting committees always decide who gets into Canton and who doesn’t and how many men are worthy every single year.

For this class, it’s only four men and they are all players. No coaches, executives or contributors. The Pro Football Hall of Fame isn’t as exclusive as the National Baseball Hall of Fame is, but this year it had fewer inductees than Cooperstown did. A rare occurrence indeed. Next year’s Hall of Fame class will have plenty of first-time ballot members worthy of induction along with a couple who didn’t make the cut this year. In terms of the next Vikings legend who should be inducted, a rare posthumous induction for Jim Marshall is well overdue. Maybe it will happen next year, maybe it won’t. But it would be a perfect coronation for a guy who has probably been ridiculed the most for his infamous “Wrong Way” TD in 1963. Perhaps that is the reason why he isn’t in Canton. Or maybe it’s because he is a relic of the past who is not as revered as other defenders are. Either way, Marshall should have a bust in Canton and it should’ve happened while he was still alive. Instead, the deed will have to be done after he passed away in early June of this year. Regardless, Jared Allen’s speech was one for the ages and he will never be forgotten among the millions of fans who saw him play either on a TV set or in live action on a football field on Sundays from 2004 through 2015.