CANTON, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – Joe Thomas began his professional career on a lake, fishing with his dad during the NFL Draft.
His Hall of Fame induction will be a family affair as well.
Thomas has elected to have his wife, Annie, and his four children present him for induction at the Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony August 5 in Canton, Ohio.
“They were so excited, they were crying,” Thomas said Monday while touring the Hall of Fame with the rest of this year’s class. “My son was bouncing up and down on the bed just like he did when Walter Jones was standing at the door in 10 below zero weather. And it just reaffirmed it in that moment that those are the people that I definitely want to be the ones that are on stage with me when the cape comes off the bust as my presenter.”
Thomas, who broke the news to them last week, considered former teammate and close friend Alex Mack before his agent informed him that the presenting speech is now done on video and not at the podium.
“As much as I love Alex, who's been an even bigger part of my career and my life from even before I got into the NFL through my time in the NFL, [I asked myself] who was that rock that I always came home to, and it became pretty obvious that I wanted my wife and my kids to be my presenter,” Thomas said.
“I didn't tell him he was the runner up yet, but I'm sure he'll see it. But I know he's going to understand.”
For Thomas, this is one of few moments professionally he’s been able to share with his children, who have been too young at 10-, eight-, six- and four-years old to truly appreciate his accomplishments on the field.
“This is cool for me because this is their first real memories of me as a football player,” Thomas said. “They love football, but we're not watching reruns of 2013 Browns games. So other than a couple pictures in the house, they don't really know me as a football player.
“Seeing them being part of it is definitely going to take me a few extra minutes to get through my speech.”
Thomas might be most excited for his kids to see his bust in the Hall of Fame.
“I think the moment that maybe I get to bring my kids by and be like, ‘Hey guys, you know who that is?,’” Thomas said. “I know he might not look just like me anymore, [but it’s] your dad, pretty cool. And I know it'll be a 50% Luke warm response, but to me that'll be really special. But thinking that in that moment that someday hopefully they'll have kids and they'll be able to bring their kids back and whether I'm around or not, they can say, Hey, this is your grandpa. That's one that really sinks in for me.”
Annie Thomas kept the news of his Hall of Fame election quiet until Walter Jones knocked on his door in Wisconsin. She found out while they were vacationing in Mexico and began plotting for the door knock. Joe told a funny story about packing a few extra beers for them to drink on their way to dinner together in Mexico and how she kept quiet.
“She was so nervous she wasn't drinking,” Thomas said. “So I ended up drinking her beers on the way to the restaurant, and by the time we got there, I'm ordering margaritas and she's not drinking, so I'm drinking them. So I got a little sloshed, and she kind of got mad at me because it wasn't the romantic date night she was expecting.
“But in hindsight now, I don't feel bad about it because I knew how nervous she was that if I would've been sober enough to talk, she would've had to hold this secret for me the entire time.”
Joe credits Annie for helping him get through 11 years with the Browns that saw the team win just 48 games during his career while he played 10,363 consecutive snaps, made 10 Pro Bowls and was named an All-Pro eight times.
“She was so much more than I can even explain behind the scenes as far as support,” Thomas said. “She just knew when it was okay to talk, when I needed somebody to talk, when I needed somebody to lean on when it was okay to maybe let, Hey, let's go, go on a date night. Let's go take the dogs for a walk. And sometimes when I just needed to go in the basement and take a nap, turn on some golf, fall asleep. She was just such a great balance.”
Thomas will be the 18th Cleveland Brown to be inducted, but the first in the team’s post-1999 expansion era.
“It feels awesome,” Thomas said. “It feels like a great responsibility for one of the most proud franchises in NFL history with certainly among, in my biased opinion, the most proud fan base in the NFL. To carry that torch is something that I'll remember till the day I die.”
The Hall of Fame has indicated to Thomas that he’ll likely be inducted last, given that Browns fans are likely to take over the city during Hall of Fame weekend, which makes his induction even more meaningful to him.
“Knowing that there's going to be a lot of Browns fans in Canton [in] August, proud of what I did,” Thomas said. “Me being able to be up on stage and represent the values that the city of Cleveland has and the people that are Browns fans throughout the state of Ohio just makes me beam with pride.”
Since the class of 2023 was announced prior to the Super Bowl, Thomas has run into multitudes of lifelong Browns fans who have stayed loyal through constant change and losing, and he’s relished hearing their stories as much as the hustle and bustle of preparing for August.
After being measured for his gold jacket, bust and ring, now the planning begins, and that was what Monday was about in Canton.
Thomas is already feeling the squeeze when it comes to his guest list, which is limited to 150. The Hall of Fame gives him six tickets and he can buy up to 144 extra for guests.
“I'm trying to explain to my friends and family back home, half of those are already going to be just Cleveland Browns players and coaches which leaves you a very small amount for some other people that are very special in your life, going back to teammates at Wisconsin and friends growing up,” Thomas said. “So there's going to be a lot of people there and that's a good problem that I have. Trying to figure out how to get everybody into the stadium.
“So yeah, being a Hall of Famer turns out is very expensive.”
In retirement Thomas remains close to the game working in a variety of multimedia capacities from podcasting to NFL Network.
Last week he was at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis working as an analyst and showing rookie prospects some tricks of the trade in the process.
While the demands that come with coaching aren’t suitable for him, football remains in his blood.
“I feel like it's such a part of my identity that I definitely want to be, I mean, they might drag me out, but I'm going to be kicking and screaming,” Thomas said.