Eli Manning: Why I Passed On Buying Stake in Giants

SAN FRANCISCO — Eli Manning said he is “probably not” ever going to be a part owner in the Giants, after he explored and ultimately passed on acquiring a minority ownership stake in his former NFL franchise last year.

“There was a process when the Giants were selling 10% and they had a possibility of joining that, and after kind of looking at it, I didn’t need to be an owner,” Manning told Front Office Sports on Radio Row ahead of Super Bowl LX. 

“I don’t need to say, ‘Hey, I’m an owner of this team.’ I have a great relationship with the Giants family, with the fans. I have access. I can walk in the facility. I can go to the games,” Manning said.

In October, fellow NFL owners approved a deal for the Mara and Tisch families to sell a 10% stake in the Giants to Julia Koch and members of her billionaire family at a reported $10 billion franchise valuation. 

“I’ll always be a Giant,” he said. “I never wanted to play for another organization. They’ll be the only organization I would ever consider about being an owner for. I didn’t get it this time, and probably not going to happen in the future, and I’m good with that.”

Manning is already in sports ownership by way of a minority stake in NWSL club Gotham FC that he bought in 2022 at a reported $40 million franchise valuation. “The price of Gotham FC was much smaller than the price of an NFL team right now,” Manning said. “These are big numbers being thrown around.” The majority owner of Gotham FC is Carolyn Tisch Blodgett, whose family co-owns the Giants.

Multiple reports in 2025 valued Gotham FC at more than $100 million, and Manning is watching the club’s growth. “It’ll take time, but I think the valuation is getting better,” he said. The fans and the TV contracts, the players, the play, it’s all getting better.”