Eli Manning has been the face of the franchise for the New York Giants ever since he was traded to them in the 2004 NFL Draft. He brought two Super Bowl titles to the organization on two unforgettable runs. Even though his playing career ended after the 2019 season, he has stil spet time with the team. But now, he's eyeing a larger role.
According to Bloomberg, Manning is putting together an investment group to purchase a stake in Giants ownership. Some that Manning reached out to are former NFL players, per the outlet.
This comes months after reports indicated that the Giants were open to selling up to 10 percent of team ownership. The Mara and Tisch families hired Moelis & Co. to pursue a sale of a stake in the team.
Eli Manning putting together investment group to buy stake in Giants ownership
There are former NFL players who have purchased an ownership stake in a professional sports franchise. The most recent and well-known example is Tom Brady, who purchased a minority ownership stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. Other names include Patrick Mahomes with the Kansas City Royals and Marshawn Lynch with the Seattle Kraken.
Manning taking this next step does make sense, as he's publicly stated that he would like to purchase a stake in Giants ownership.
“It’s definitely something of interest,” said Manning in a January CNBC interview. “There’s probably only one team I’d be interested in pursuing, and it’s the one I played for for 16 years, and it’s local, and makes the most sense, but we just got to figure out if they would ever sell a little bit.”
This wouldn't be Manning's first trip into team ownership, as he has a small stake in the National Women's Soccer League's NJ/NY Gotham FC.
Manning spent his entire career with the Giants, after they acquired him from the then-San Diego Chargers, who selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 draft. From there, Manning took ovre the starting role late in his rookie season from Kurt Warner. In his fourth season, Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl 42 win over the then-undefeated New England Patriots. In 2011, the Giants won their second Super Bowl title with Manning as the starting quarterback.
In 16 seasons, Manning threw for 57,023 yards, 366 touchdowns, and 244 interceptions.
We'll see if Manning does land a stake in the Giants, but based on the Bloomberg reporting, he is trying his best to make it a reality.