Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning was interested in buying a small piece of the franchise that he led to two Super Bowls. Just not at the team's massive expected valuation.
Shortly after a rule change passed that allows NFL ownership to sell up to 10% of their franchise's to pre-approved private equity companies, the Giants' Mara and Tisch families began looking into the sale of a minority share of the franchise.
Manning emerged as a potential suitor for a small slice of the team, but as valuations continue to soar, he admitted to CNBC on Wednesday that it is just too much money for him to spend.
“Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Eli Manning told CNBC Sport. “These numbers are getting very big. . . . A 1% stake of something valued at $10 billion, it turns into a very big number. I love the Giants, and I think it is deserving of that valuation and there'll be people that want to go for it."
Manning also acknowledged that his media role, which includes the alternate Monday Night Football broadcast that he and his brother Peyton Manning do for ESPN, as well as other partnerships with the league created hurdles potential ownership, not unlike the ones that Tom Brady had to clear to serve in his dual roles as Fox game analyst and Raiders minority owner.
"It really is a matter of some complications with the fact that I'm doing broadcasting. I wouldn't be able to talk to the players. I coach in the Pro Bowl. I do a high school football camp where college guys come. There would be a lot of conflicts and it would affect my day job, so I had to pull out of the Giants deal."
Manning confirmed that he is still heavily involved with the franchise and still has significant access within the team. Given everything that he does away from New York, and the sheer price tag that Big Blue is expected to fetch when the Mara and Tisch families do sell that minority stake, this looks like a wise decision.
More NFL on Sports Illustrated