Eli Manning Says It's 'Too Expensive' to Join Giants Ownership Group amid NFL Rumors

Retired New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning says he is backing out of his bid to purchase a stake in his former team.

"Basically, it's too expensive for me. These numbers are getting very big," Manning said in a Wednesday interview with CNBC. "A one percent stake in something valued at ten billion dollars, it turned into a very big number. I love the Giants, and I think it is deserving of that valuation, and there will be people that want to go for it."

Ben Fischer reported in February for Sports Business Journal that the Giants were considering selling "up to 10 percent" of the team.

Bloomberg's Gillian Tan and Randall Williams then reported in April that Manning was "putting together an investment group" to purchase a stake in the Giants.

The Giants have most recently been valued in 2024 at $7.3 billion by Forbes and at $7.85 billion by CNBC.

If the Giants' valuation comes in closer to the number Manning provided of $10 billion, it wouldn't be the first time NFL teams' values have outpaced public estimates.

CNBC's Alex Sherman and Jessica Golden reported that two minority NFL stake sales within the past year, the Philadelphia Eagles last December and the San Francisco 49ers in May, both sold for valuations of about $1 billion more than CNBC's projections.

Manning added that it wasn't just the cost of the sale prohibiting him from pursuing NFL team ownership.

He indicated his partnership with ESPN, whose partnership with Peyton Manning's Omaha Productions and Monday Night Football with Peyton & Eli is currently set to run through 2034, had complicated his ownership bid.

"It really was a matter of just some complications with the fact that I'm doing broadcasting," Manning told CNBC. "I wouldn't be able to talk to the players. I coached in the Pro Bowl. I do a high school football camp where college guys come. There was gonna be a lot of conflicts, and it was going to affect my day job, so kind of had to pull out of the Giants deal. But still, obviously, I'm here, and have access, and still very involved in the Giants organization."

Fellow former NFL quarterback Tom Brady successfully purchased a stake in the Las Vegas Raiders despite his involvement in league broadcasts. The NFL prohibited Brady from watching practices or entering other team's facilities, among other restrictions, as part of the deal.

Manning, who retired from his playing career after the 2019 season, joined the Giants front office in 2021. He joined the private equity group Brand Velocity Partners in 2022, two years before NFL owners voted to allow private equity funds to purchase minority stakes in teams.

The Giants are currently split in ownership between the Mara family, which owns a 50 percent stake, and the Tisch family, which owns the other 50 percent. John Mara has served as team president since 2005.