NFL owners voted to approve a measure that allows private equity funds to buy minority stakes in franchises last August, per the NFL Network. The Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins have both completed minority sales since then. Now, one of the league’s oldest and most decorated franchises is hoping to find new minority ownership as well — the New York Giants.
As investors prepare their bids, two former Giants teammates have found themselves in competition with each other.
Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning is putting together an investment group to bid for a piece of the team that he led to two Super Bowl championships. Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan is partnering with billionaire Marc Lasry to make a competing bid for a stake in his former team, according to the Sports Business Journal.
Eli Manning, Michael Strahan set to face off for Giants ownership stake
Manning had “preliminary conversations” about joining Lasry’s group and becoming teammates with Strahan once again, but he ultimately decided not to “due to conflicts with his other business holdings."
Strahan tallied 141.5 sacks over the span of his 15-year career, all of which he spent with the Giants. He was named the 2001 NFL Defensive Player of the Year after setting a single season NFL record with 22.5 sacks. He retired after winning Super Bowl XLII alongside Manning. While the youngest Manning brother didn’t enjoy the same success as Strahan, he cemented his place as a Giants legend with two extraordinary playoffs runs that culminated in Super Bowl championships, first in 2007 and then in 2011.
The Giants were established by Timothy Mara and Will Gibson for $2,500 in 1925, making them the fourth-oldest franchise that still exists in today’s NFL. John Mara, the grandson of founder Timothy Mara, still owns a 50 percent share of the Giants. The other 50 percent is owned by Steve Tisch, whose father Bob Tisch purchased half of the team for approximately $75 million in 1991. Mara and Tisch are now looking to sell as much as a 10 percent share of their money-printing organization. The stake will likely be split among a number of different investors, per Sports Business Journal.
The storied franchise has made 19 championship appearances and won eight titles throughout its history — four prior to the Super Bowl era (1927, 1934, 1938, 1956) and four since the advent of the Super Bowl (XXI, XXV, XLII, XLVI). Along with the team’s success, the big-market appeal of New York has significantly contributed to making the Giants one of the most valuable franchises in the league.
In 2024, Forbes named the Giants as the fourth-most valuable NFL team with a $7.3 billion valuation and an operating income of $190 million. Sports Business Journal valued the Giants at $7.65 billion, which would make them the third-most valuable NFL team and the eighth-most valuable sports franchise globally. The 10 percent share of the franchise that is currently for sale is estimated to cost between $750 million to $800 million.
Unfortunately, Manning and Strahan are unlikely to receive any discount for helping increase the franchise’s value with their championship runs.