Eli Manning Could Be Next in Line For Giants Ownership As The Franchise Sells Minority Stake

With the New York Giants exploring the sale of up to 10% of the franchise, a familiar face might be among the potential buyers.

Eli Manning, the franchise legend with two Super Bowl MVPs and 11th place in NFL history for both passing yards and passing touchdowns, has openly expressed interest in owning a stake in his former team.

“It’s definitely something of interest,” Manning said in an interview in January. “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’ve just got to figure out if they would ever sell a little bit.”

The NFL introduced a rule in August enabling private equity firms to buy as much as 10% of a franchise. While John Mara and Steve Tisch will remain in charge, their partial sale is expected to establish a record-breaking valuation for an NFL team.

“The Mara and Tisch families have retained Moelis & Company to explore the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the New York Giants,” the organization said in a statement. “There will be no further comment in regard to the process.”

Ownership of the Giants remained solely with the Mara family from 1925 to 1991, at which point they sold a 50% stake to the Tisch family.

The franchise’s valuation is projected to be between $7.3 billion and $7.85 billion.

The Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills led the way in December, becoming the first teams to sell minority shares to private equity firms. The Bills’ 10 limited partners include NBA Hall of Famers Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady, and former U.S. soccer player Jozy Altidore.

The Philadelphia Eagles followed suit, recently selling 8% of their team at an $8.3 billion valuation, with the two family investors paying a combined $664 million for their stakes.