While looking at this year’s prospects, it dawned on me that it was 20 years ago that New Orleans’ own Eli Manning was THE rising star in the NFL.
Manning, the son of former New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning and younger brother of then Indianapolis Colts starting quarterback Peyton Manning, was born and raised in the Crescent City. Like Peyton, Eli prepped at Isidore Newman and came out of high school as one of, if not, the best recruits in the country. As a Greenie, he passed for 7,389 yards and 89 touchdowns, records that would eventually be broken by his nephew, Arch Manning.
Eli chose to follow his parents and oldest brother Cooper’s footsteps and attend the University of Mississippi, where Archie remains a cult hero to this day and Cooper saw the end of his football dreams due to a spinal condition right before he was to start his freshman year. (Peyton opted to go to Tennessee when Cooper retired from football and Ole Miss was on probation for recruiting violations.)
In Oxford, Eli resurrected the name of Ole Miss football, bringing the team to heights it hadn’t seen since his father was the Rebels’ quarterback and replaced his dad’s name on many Rebel records. He finished his collegiate career with 10,119 passing yards (fifth on the SEC career list), 81 touchdown passes (third on the SEC career list), and a passer rating of 137.7 (tied for sixth on the SEC career list). While with the Rebs, Manning won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best all-around player, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame Scholar-Athlete Award, the Sporting News Radio Socrates Award, and the SEC Most Valuable Player Award. He also finished third in the voting for the 2003 Heisman Trophy.
With his pedigree, collegiate success and renowned laid-back attitude, pro football scouts and fans marveled at his potential.
The San Diego Chargers had the first overall pick in the 2004 draft and declared their intent to select Manning to replace their then-quarterback Drew Brees. The Manning family had some issues with the management style of the Chargers’ ownership, however, and Eli declared he wouldn’t play in Southern California if San Diego made him their first pick.
Draft night drama ensued when the Chargers selected Manning, the first of 17 QBs taken, with the first pick. Of course, cameras were there to capture the moment when Eli put on a Chargers hat and made half-hearted grins for the camera. With the fourth pick in the draft, the New York Giants selected quarterback Philip Rivers and immediately traded him, a 2004 third-round pick, a 2005 first-round pick, and a 2005 fifth-round pick in order to land Manning, who signed a six-year, $45 million contract with the Giants (for two decades of cost comparison, Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is currently in a 10-year, $450 million contract).
Manning would go on to play 16 seasons with the New York Giants, punctuated by underdog Super Bowl victories against the New England Patriots dynasty. In Super Bowl XLII and Super Bowl XLVI he was named Super Bowl MVP, making him one of six players to receive the award multiple times. As the Giants’ starting quarterback from 2004 to 2019, he set and still holds franchise records for passing yards, passing touchdowns and completions. He started 210 consecutive games from 2004 to 2017, the third-longest consecutive starts streak by an NFL quarterback. He ranks 10th all-time in NFL history for passing yards and touchdowns.
After a couple of injuries late in Manning’s career, the Giants drafted quarterback Daniel Jones in 2019. The team offered Manning a spot as a backup or a move to their front office for the 2020 season, but he decided instead to hang up his gear and announced his retirement on Jan. 22, 2020. On Sept. 26, 2021, the Giants retired his No. 10 jersey and inducted him into their stadium’s Ring of Honor.
Since retiring from football, Eli has remained highly visible, staring in several commercials — sometimes with his famous family members — hosts “Eli’s Places” for ESPN+, where he visits some of college football’s historic locales and interviews the game’s biggest personalities, and is co-host of the Monday Night Football alternate broadcast called the “Manningcast,” in which the brothers watch and comment on the game with special guests.
Today, the 43-year-old lives with his wife, Abby, three daughters, and son in Summit, New Jersey. We will likely see him again soon. He will be eligible for induction in the NFL Hall of Fame beginning in 2025. And sooner rather than later, fans will wonder if Eli’s boy will pick up and sling the pigskin like his father, grandfather, uncle and cousin. The time will be here before we know it.