The Giants are looking to sell up to 10 percent of the team. And some are asking whether former Giants quarterback Eli Manning will be interested in buying a piece.
As noted by FrontOfficeSports.com, Manning said in 2022 — in an interview with FOS — that he had interest in becoming a minority owner of the team for which he played.
“It’s of interest, it’s just got to be the right fit,” Manning said, adding that “I don’t think the Giants are going to be for sale anytime soon.”
The fit, in this context, comes (or doesn’t) from the question of whether the Giants are looking to maximize the return or essentially hire Manning to a job bigger than the one he now has with the team.
After the NFL’s owners slammed the door in 2023 on compensating employees with equity, Raiders owner Mark Davis fashioned a workaround: Give someone a sweetheart deal to purchase equity and then put him to work. That’s exactly what Davis has done with Tom Brady.
The Giants could do the same with Manning, if they’re willing to give up a slice of the team at a well-below-market rate, and if Eli is willing to roll up his sleeves.
Of course, having Eli own a piece of the Giants while working NFL games via the ManningCast would create a separate issue. Unless it wouldn’t. The owners allowed their desire to have a “cool friend” in Brady overcome the practical issues arising from such a clear conflict of interest. Beyond the fact that the precedent they’ve already set, how could they say no to the guy who, when given the chance, proved he was even cooler?
Twice.
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