MIAMI -- For a time, Zach Thomas was content with accepting his fate.
The former Miami Dolphins linebacker enjoyed a 13-year Hall of Fame-worthy playing career -- or so many football fans believed. But for nine years after he became eligible for enshrinement, voters decided otherwise.
In 2023, his 10th year of eligibility and fourth straight as a finalist, he got the news.
He was in.
Thomas will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 5, and although the wait was long, it wasn’t necessarily strenuous. In his eyes, he was an undersized, fifth-round pick from a small town in West Texas who was under consideration for the sport’s highest honor.