The New York Giants are a cornerstone franchise of the NFL and have been around for 100 years. Tim Mara founded the team in 1925, and the franchise has been in his family ever since.
The family sold half of the franchise to Preston Robert Tisch in 1991, and both the Maras and Tischs are looking to sell a 10% stake to a minority ownership group. Two former Giants’ players have thrown competing hats in the ring to own a piece of their former team.
Eli Manning and Michael Strahan Set To Compete for Slice of Giants
Manning was the first-overall pick of the 2004 NFL Draft and maneuvered his way to the Giants after being selected by the San Diego Chargers. He played his entire 16-year career with New York and led them to two Super Bowl Championships.
The four-time Pro Bowler’s best season was 2011, when he totaled a career-high 4,933 yards. He threw 29 touchdowns and 16 interceptions that season, but was on another level in the playoffs. In four games, Manning threw for 1,219 yards, nine touchdowns, and one interception. He was named the MVP of Super Bowl 46 after the Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17.
Strahan was a second-round pick in the 1993 NFL Draft and played all 15 seasons for the Giants. The four-time first-team All-Pro won Defensive Player of the Year in 2001 after posting 73 tackles, 24 for loss, and 22.5 sacks.
Strahan was a pivotal member of New York’s Super Bowl 42 winning team. In his final season, he totaled 57 tackles and nine sacks. He added two in the team’s postseason run, including one against Tom Brady.
Now, both Giants’ legends are looking to buy a piece of their former team. Earlier this offseason, the Giants confirmed they were looking to sell a portion of the franchise. Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio recently wrote about the competing bids and broke down the growing trend with minority ownership groups.
Michael Strahan, Eli Manning prepare competing bids for a 10-percent stake in the Giants. https://t.co/SV5GjcyBnP
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) May 6, 2025
PFT’s X account tweeted a link to the article with the message, “Michael Strahan, Eli Manning prepare competing bids for a 10-percent stake in the Giants.”
Florio referenced a Sportico article detailing Strahan’s partnership with billionaire Marc Lasry. The group will have to come up with at least $750 million to purchase a 10% stake in the franchise.
PFT had also reported Manning’s involvement in a bidding group, and now he’ll be competing against his former teammate.
In the latest piece, Florio wrote, “Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning, who inevitably will join Strahan in Canton, has a separate bid in the works. He reportedly had ‘preliminary conversations’ about joining Strahan’s group, but Eli ultimately decided to go it alone.” It’s surprising to see the Super Bowl 42 champions going head-to-head, but apparently, there was a brief moment where they were together.
Florio also wrote about what minority ownership bids look like in the current NFL climate. He wrote, “The Strahan-Lasry combo is the latest example of the newest dynamic when it comes to minority NFL ownership, sparked by the ever-skyrocket value of teams. A rich guy with significant name recognition in league circles combines with a really rich guy with no existing pro football footprint to come up with the cash necessary to do the deal.”
He noted how the Las Vegas Raiders gave Brady a discount in return for his involvement in the team’s football operation. At least right now, it doesn’t appear that the Giants will offer the same deal to either of their legendary players.