Owens, who was drafted by San Francisco in the third round of the 1996 NFL Draft, was with the 49ers from 1996 until 2003. He also spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals.
The six-time Pro Bowler and five-time first team All-Star has 1,078 career receptions for 15,934 yards and 153 touchdowns. He ranks sixth all-time in receptions and is second only to Jerry Rice in all-time receiving yards. He also ranks third in all-time receiving touchdowns and fifth among all players in touchdowns. In 2000, Owens broke the record for catches in a game. That record would later be broken in 2009 by Brandon Marshall.
On January 3, Owens was nominated as one of the 15 modern-era finalists under consideration for the class of 2017. He did not make it past that point last year either, during his first year of eligibility. Owens would go on to speak out against the vote following the snub. "I felt so disrespected," Owens told a Dallas radio station in the days that followed. "I think you guys know, my stats speak for themselves. I think everyone realizes that there is a flaw in the system."
Owens would also go on to criticize Hall of Famer Chris Carter, saying that he "begged his way into the Hall of Fame." Another Hall of Fame wide receiver, Marvin Harrison, lashed out at Owens after growing tired of hearing him complain about the snub.
Last year, the argument among the voters against Owens was that the controversial wide receiver actually made his teams worse. "His supporters argue that Owens has Hall-of-Fame numbers, and they're right," wrote Clark Judge last year. "But there's another number they don't mention, and it's one that must have swayed voters. It's zero. That's the number of teams that wanted to keep this guy at the top of his career."
Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area revealed this week that he would have the honor of being the presenter on Owens' behalf in front of the voting committee. His argument for why Owens belonged in the Pro Football Hall of Fame would be that the wide receiver actually did the opposite and made teams better.
"The argument against him last year was that he made his teams worse through his divisive personality, his locker room demeanor, that he pulled teams apart," Maiocco said on 95.7 The Game on Thursday. "So my major point is going to be that he made teams better. Just the opposite tact. That he made teams better and, yes, he had his issues with the quarterbacks – [Jeff] Garcia [in San Francisco], [Donovan] McNabb [in Philadelphia], [Tony] Romo [in Dallas] – but when you look at it, each of those quarterbacks, their best win totals was when T.O. was the number one receiver."
Last year, legendary former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo Jr. was inducted as the sole candidate for the class of 2016 in the contributor category, which honors individuals who made outstanding contributions to professional football in capacities other than playing or coaching.
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