Forbes Magazine recently came out with its annual list of the most valuable NFL franchises.

But the surprising thing wasn’t that the Dallas Cowboys were number one on the list. In my opinion, the most startling fact is that an impressive number of smaller market teams were up pretty high on the list.

Looking over the names of the teams in the top third, it seems like the owners of smaller market teams that put some  care into putting a good, winning product on the field; as well as having the players active and involved in the community have seen their profits skyrocket:

Seeing teams in small markets like the Buccaneers (8), Broncos (10), Ravens (11), and Panthers (12) ranked ahead of large market and well established teams like the Steelers (16), Packers (17), Raiders (32) does my heart some good.

All four of those teams and their owners are some of the best at reaching out in their communities and show that even in tough economic times, the “good neighbor” thing can work– and in fact it can have a huge positive impact on the value of a business.

WIth the Super Bowl over and the Pittsburgh Steelers using an improbable last minute drive to beat the Arizona Cardinals, I started thinking about the recent Pro Football Hall of Fame inductions.

This year’s class included such great players as Bruce Smith, Rod Woodson, Randall McDaniel, Derrick Thomas and Bob Hayes. But not one quarterback made the final cut.

The quarterbacks that did get nominated this past year include Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason, Jim Plunkett, Phil Simms, Ken Stabler, Joe Theismann, Doug Williams- All great QBs in their day. Many with extraordinary numbers and longevity. But if you’re an NFL QB, what do you really have to do to get in the Hall of Fame?

The answer, if you are a QB anyway, is to win the Super Bowl, repeatedly. And Ben Roethisberger’s win, last night, put him in elite company- Hall of Fame company.  

Ben Roethlisberger recently improved his chances at getting in to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by winning his second championship.

Ben doesn’t put up flashy numbers. In fact Ben’s numbers this season and on his carrer so far have been pedestrian. But he manages the game well, comes through in the clutch when he needs to and he wins.

But the good news for Ben is that the precedent has been set. If you want to get to Canton as a QB you simply win the big game- back to back or multiples are best.

After scouring the Hall of Fame’s website, I count 12 QB’s who have won back-to-back titles and 10 of them have already been selected to the Hall of Fame. That’s a clip of 83%. And Tom Brady is still playing. If you only include retired, Hall of fame eligible QBs, a whopping 92% that win back to back titles are Hall of Famers. Tommy Thompson is the only one left out.

Sid Luckman CHI
(1940-1941)

*Tommy Thompson PHI
(1948-1949)

Bobby Layne DET
(1952-1953)

Otto Graham CLE
(1954-1955)

Johnny Unitas BAL
(1958-1959)

Bart Starr GB
(1961-1962, 1965-1967)

Bob Griese MIA
(1972-1973)

Terry Bradshaw PIT
(1974-1975, 1978-1979)

Joe Montana SF
(1988-1989)

Troy Aikman DAL
(1992-1993)

John Elway DEN
(1997-1998)

**Tom Brady NE
(2003-2004)

* Not in the Hall of Fame

**Still active

Ok, So back to Ben.

The good news for him is that QB’s don’t really have to win back to back to get into the Hall of Fame. They can also win two or more titles in their career, like Mr. Roethlisberger…

Here’s the longer list of multiple title-winning passers. There are 19 total that have won two or more championships.  Of the 17 retired multiple championship winners, 15 (88%) are in the Hall of Fame:

Arnie Herber GB
(1936, 1939)

Sid Luckman CHI
(1940, 1941, 1943, 1946)

Sammy Baugh WAS
(1937, 1942)

*Tommy Thompson PHI
(1948, 1949)

Bob Waterfield Cle/L.A. Rams
(1945, 1951)

Bobby Layne DET
(1952, 1953)

Otto Graham CLE
(1950, 1954, 1955)

Johnny Unitas BAL
(1958, 1959, 1970)

Norm VanBrocklin L.A./PHI
(1951, 1960)

Bart Starr GB
(1961, 1962, 1965, 1966, 1967)

Bob Griese MIA
(1972, 1973)

Terry Bradshaw PIT
(1974, 1975, 1978, 1979)

Roger Staubach DAL
(1971, 1977)

*Jim Plunkett OAK/L.A.
(1980, 1983)

Joe Montana SF
(1981, 1984, 1988, 1989)

Troy Aikman DAL
(1992, 1993, 1995)

John Elway DEN
(1997, 1998)

**Tom Brady NE
(2001, 2003, 2004)

**Ben Roethlisberger PIT (2005, 2009)

* Not in the Hall of Fame

**Still active

So things are looking good for the young Pittsburgh QB.

But before you start mixing the plaster, everyone needs to take another look at the list of this year’s nominees and who didn’t make the cut. The way the Hall of Fame is structured, only allowing as many as seven new inductees each year, means the importance of getting in on your first ballot is even greater.

Take this year for example. Left off, again, were two field generals, with average numbers and two championships- Oakland and LA’s Jim Plunkett and Philadelphia’s Tommy Thompson. And Mr. Thompson wasn’t even nominated.  

Jim Plunkett, despite winning multiple championships has yet to be named to the Hall of Fame.