Peter King’s new book ‘The Game’ sparks debate over NFL’s most significant figures across four decades

Peter King’s new book, *The Game*, traces the NFL’s growth over four decades through 40 chapters about teams, players and figures who shaped the sport. It also ranks influential people in a broad “Mount Rushmore” list, prompting debate over why celebrated coaches Bill Belichick and Don Shula sit outside its top 20.

King says the list measures who most helped make the NFL the huge sport and business it is today, rather than coaching success alone. He places Belichick at No. 24 and Shula outside the top 25, while ranking figures such as former commissioner Joe Carr, Lamar Hunt, Pete Rozelle, John Madden and Vince Lombardi highly; King also says he considered Belichick’s Hall of Fame candidacy a first-ballot one.