Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

Super Bowl sabotage be damned. Even before Tim Brown accused Bill Callahan of trying to throw the biggest game in all of sports the Raiders receiving legend was already longshot to make the final cut for the Hall of Fame in 2013. His words didn’t help his case this time around but in reality there was nothing Brown could do or say that would have increased his odds.

Oddly enough it’s a man that has gotten the Hall call ahead of Brown that might have made the best case for the former Heisman winner and Notre Dame Alum to earn a yellow jacket this time next year.

Cris Carter gathered enough votes to finally be allowed into Canton and with that there was a breakthrough amongst the Hall eligible receivers that have been playing the waiting game the last three years.

After Carter there remains Andre Reed and Tim Brown among those that have put up Hall of Fame numbers at receiver even though they never added a Super Bowl ring to their jewelry collection. That would seem to be the most logical reason why it’s taken Carter this long and even longer for Brown and Reed.

Look at the list of Hall of Fame receivers and you won’t see many that have the career accomplishments in terms of stats that Reed and Brown have amassed. However winning a Super Bowl or two certainly helped Michael Irvin get inducted and without a doubt is the biggest reason Lynn Swann is enshrined.

Carter never won a Super Bowl yet had plenty of praise as one of the best to ever play his position. Now that he’s in the path has been paved for Reed and Brown. Just how much longer those two will have to wait is anyone’s guess but the precedent has been set and a blueprint established to make a much better argument for those two all-time greats to finally earn their overdue honor.

I guess the voters were willing to overlook many of Sapp’s recent troubles but couldn’t get past Brown’s Super Bowl sabotage claims.

Whatever the case Brown’s wait continues while Sapp becomes the newest former member of the Silver and Black to earn a yellow jacket.

Far from a surprise but none the less deflating the Hall of Fame class for 2013 has been announced and Tim Brown is not included. Yet another year of waiting for the Raider great one that will be filled with plenty of questions surrounding his chances of ever getting the Hall call.

No doubt Brown has the credentials as he’s amassed numbers few in the history of the game can touch. However his outlandish claims of Super Bowl sabotage reportedly didn’t sit well with many voters and could cloud his future prospects of enshrinement.

It would be very unfair to hold something that happened after his playing days were over against Brown but since when has this process been fair or unbiased? Ray Guy knows a thing or two about that.

However if there is some hope out there it can be found in Cris Carter’s selection today. Carter has a similar resume to that of Brown and it proves there is a strong case to be made going forward. The wide receiver position has been one of the toughest to break through but that could be changing.