Which New York legend will prevail?
Eli Manning is reportedly taking a page out of Tom Brady’s playbook, considering a move from former NFL quarterback to future NFL owner. The New York Giants great now has competition for a minority stake in his old team, however, and it’s coming from a fellow franchise legend in Michael Strahan.
Strahan recently partnered with billionaire Marc Lasry in an effort to purchase a 10% ownership stake in the Giants, according to Sportico, which is what the team’s current ownership reportedly put up for sale in February. Manning, who was teammates with Strahan from 2004-2007, including for the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII upset of Brady’s New England Patriots, initially considered joining Strahan’s group, only to back out “due to conflicts with his other business holdings,” per Sportico.
Manning, who won two titles as the Giants’ quarterback, is still planning to assemble his own bid for minority ownership, as Bloomberg previously reported, with the help of his own financial partners.
Lasry, who is working with Strahan, the Hall of Fame pass rusher and longtime TV personality, was previously co-owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks from 2014-2023.
If either party secures an ownership stake from the Mara and Tisch families, the controlling owners of the Giants, it will be just the latest in a growing list of stakeholder changes around the NFL. In August 2024, the league approved new ownership rules permitting private equity funds — or a pooled investment group — to purchase minority stakes in NFL teams. The Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins and Philadelphia Eagles are among teams to utilize this since last offseason, selling shares of ownership.
