Tony Boselli: Why Becoming First Jags' Player to Reach Canton 'Is Huge to Me'

(EDITOR'S NOTE: To listen to Tony Boselli, click on the following link: https://www.spreaker.com/user/fullpresscoverage/eyetest-ep98)

When tackle Tony Boselli was elected to the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame’s Class of 2022, he was as relieved as he was elated … and you don’t have to look far to see why. In his 16^th year of eligibility, he’d been a Top-10 finalist the past five years without crossing the finish line.

So he wondered if it would ever happen. Well, now it has.

But there’s another reason almost as compelling: Tony Boselli just made history. He’s the first player in Jacksonville Jaguars' history to reach Canton. In fact, other than Boselli, no player who spent the majority of his career with the Jaguars has been a Hall-of-Fame finalist.

A big deal? It is to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It scheduled Jacksonville as one of its two teams in this year’s Hall-of-Fame game (Aug. 4). But it is to Boselli, too, and he explained why on a recent “Eye Test for Two” podcast (fullpresscoverage.com).

“It’s huge to me,” he said of becoming the Jaguars’ first inductee. “I’m still part of this organization. I love this place. I live and die with their wins and losses … and so it’s been a lot of death lately.”

He laughed when he said that, as he should. Only once in the past 14 years (2017) have the Jaguars had a winning season. Worse, ten times in that period they failed to win more than five games in any season. Plus, they just clinched the first pick of the NFL draft for the second consecutive year.

Nevertheless, Boselli never strayed from the franchise and, as the first-ever player drafted by the organization (1995) and the first inductee to the Jaguars' Hall of Fame (2006), he's overwhelmed with his ticket to Canton – both for himself and for the Jaguars.

“I took it as a huge responsibility when I was the first pick when I was a player,” he said. “(It was) like I represented the organization. I have since. I retired, and to be the first Hall of Famer from Jacksonville it’s important to me because I think the fans … they’ve been supporting me.

“The organization (has, too). Shad Khan, our owner … who wasn’t the owner when I was there but who has been super supportive in this process … Wayne Weaver, the past owner. I’m going into the Hall of Fame, and it’s for Tony Boselli. But I’m bringing the organization with me.

“I’m bringing my family. I’m bringing our fans. My friends. My teammates. It’s a big deal to me.”

It’s a big deal for the Jaguars, too.