Eli Manning

Name	Elisha Nelson Manning
Age	42
Date of Birth	January 3, 1981
Nationality	American
Draft	2004 / Round 1 / Pick 1
Current team	Retired
Past teams	New York Giants
Mother’s name	Olivia Manning (née Williams)
Father’s name	Elisha Archibald Manning III (Archie Manning)
Position	Quarterback
Net worth	$150 million
Height	6 feet 5 inches (1.96 mts)
Weight	218 lbs (99 kg)
Relationship status	Married to Abby McGrew

Elisha Nelson Manning who is popularly known as Eli Manning is a former NFL quarterback who played his entire career with the New York Giants. Eli was a second-generation football player as his father, Archie Manning was the first one in the family to take up the sport. In his 14-year career in the league as a quarterback, Archie spent almost 12 years with the New Orleans Saints. Eli also had another member of the family, his older brother Peyton to look up to as he too was playing in the NFL at the time.

With the Giants, Manning was thrust into action in the very first game of his rookie year when he stepped onto the field to replace their starter, Kurt Warner. Towards the third week of November, he got to play in his first start as a Giant and ended up playing 7 games that year as a starter. Unfortunately though, the Giants' record with Eli as the starter was just 1-6 while the team’s overall record was a poor 6-10. Throughout his distinguished 16-year career, Eli and the Giants could only make the postseason on 6 occasions. Out of those 6 years, the Giants only made two deep runs in the playoffs and in both instances, they went on to lift the Lombardi by defeating Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Early Life

Eli Manning was born on January 3, 1981, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was the youngest of three brothers in a family that had football running through their veins. Eli’s father, a well-respected quarterback in the league, would take the boys outside during his free time where they would learn the game first-hand.

Eli went to Isidore Newman High School, the same school where Peyton had gone. Playing as a quarterback in high school itself, Eli set the school record for the most passing yards with 7,389 and the most passing touchdowns with 89. Interestingly, his nephew Arch Manning recently broke both of these records.

Eli then decided to play college football at the University of Mississippi. By then, he already had immense pressure on his shoulders as his father was considered somewhat of a hero during his playing days at Ole Miss and Peyton was the starting quarterback with the Indianapolis Colts. His four years in college yielded him over 10,000 passing yards and 84 passing touchdowns against 36 interceptions. By the time his college career came to an end, Eli was also considered to be the first pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. Interestingly enough, both brothers became the number one overall selections in their respective drafts as Peyton went to the Colts in 1998 and Eli was taken by the then San Diego Chargers (Los Angeles Chargers) in the 2004 NFL draft.

Eli Manning’s NFL Draft

The 2004 NFL draft is considered one of the best drafts in the NFL as far as the quarterback position is considered. The first round itself saw three future Hall of Fame quarterbacks get selected as high as numbers one, four and eleven Eli Manning, Philip Rivers, and Ben Roethlisberger. Roethlisberger and Manning would each go on to win 2 Super Bowls a piece while Rivers would also have a glittering 17-year-long career setting various records and earning 8 Pro Bowl selections. Wide receiver Larry Fitzerald Jr. was also another prominent signing from this same class.

Eli Manning’s NFL Journey

Eli Manning’s NFL journey started with a bit of a controversy right on draft day. The San Diego Chargers had the number one overall pick and Eli didn’t want to play for the Chargers. Post-retirement he has stated that he decided to not play for the Chargers and tried to communicate to the franchise secretly to not draft him. At that time, San Diego was not an ideal place for young quarterbacks because the management and the previous couple of quarterbacks were not seeing things eye to eye. Eventually, just a few minutes later, Eli was traded to the Giants and the rest is history.

After being traded to the Giants, Eli spent his entire career with the same franchise. In just his fourth year in the league, the Giants won their first of two Super Bowls under his leadership on the offense. Over the years, he has set countless Giants’ franchise records.

Eli Manning's Teams

New York Giants (2004-2019)

Being thrust into the driver’s seat in his rookie season, Eli Manning’s debut year did not go very well. He was a backup to Kurt Warner, the Giant’s starting quarterback but featured in many of their games including 7 starts. His 1-6 win-loss record was dismal but he was able to turn things around the next year. On the back of their leader, the Giants would then go on to make 4 straight playoff appearances from 2005-2008 winning their first Super Bowl in Eli Manning’s tenure.

The next couple of seasons went by with the Giants failing to make it to the postseason and were in danger of missing the 2011 playoffs as well. However, the team hit a purple patch in form and was able to squeeze in. Surprisingly, the Giants team which had the worst record among all NFC playoff teams, were able to somehow win their second Lombardi trophy with Eli Manning at the helm. Sadly though, Eli and the Giants could only muster up one more playoff attempt in 2016 but even then they came up short in the Wild Card round against the Green Bay Packers.

After 2016, Eli and the Giants had consecutive losing records for the next three years and in 2019, Eli lost his starting role in the team to newly drafted quarterback Daniel Jones. With his contract set to expire post the 2019 season, Eli did not wish to continue playing as a backup quarterback and in January 2020, he decided to officially retire from the game. When his career was finally over, Eli had stats that read over 57,000 passing yards, 366 passing touchdowns against 244 interceptions and 4 Pro Bowl appearances.

Eli Manning’s Career Stats

Regular season

Postseason

Eli Manning’s Family Background

Eli Manning was born to Archie and Olivia Manning (née Williams) as the youngest of three boys. His father was a professional football player who spent most of his playing days with the New Orleans Saints, while his mother not only looked after and cared for her kids but also found time to be around several organizations for charity work. Eli’s older brothers are Cooper Manning and the Hall of Fame, World famous Peyton Manning.

Eli Manning’s Father

Elisha Archibald Manning III who is mostly known as Archie Manning was the first from the family to have a career in the NFL. Out of Archie’s 14 seasons in the league, he spent 11.5 of them with the Saints and then finished his career with the then-Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings. Playing as a quarterback for the University of Mississippi in college, Archie Manning had three years of good productivity. That led to the Saints drafting him with the second overall pick in the 1971 NFL Draft. Woefully, though for Archie, he was never in a position to guide his team to the playoffs as his teams were always horrendous. Even though Archie Manning never had a winning record in the league, he was still voted to two Pro Bowls.

Eli Manning’s Mother

Olivia Manning who before marriage was Olivia Williams was born in Philadelphia, Mississippi. She came from the Williams family who started the famous Williams Brothers general store in Philadelphia. At present, her brother Sid is the one who manages the day-to-day activities. Olivia, like Archie, also attended the University of Mississippi and graduated with a degree in elementary education. She was also a member of the cheerleading squad. Olivia has been a constant at various charity organizations and has overseen fundraisers as well. Olivia and Archie Manning have started the Manning Family Fund as their way of giving back to the state of Mississippi.

Cooper Manning

Cooper Manning is the oldest sibling of the three brothers. He also had a dream of playing in the NFL like his father and started out playing as a quarterback himself. However, later on in high school, Cooper switched to wide receiver as he didn’t want to sit behind the starter. He excelled in the new position well and was looking forward to playing college football as a wide receiver. However, even before he got a chance to play his first game, he was diagnosed with a condition which was narrowing his spine and pinching his nerves. Cooper had to immediately end his football dreams right then and there.

Cooper then went on to become an entrepreneur and a television personality. The Manning Hour is a TV show hosted by him on FOX Sports. Since 2021, he and Peyton have been hosting the College Bowl. In 2016, Cooper joined the executive team at AJ Capital Partners where he was made the principal and senior managing director of investor relations. This company is in the real estate sector and its primary focus is on building hotels and resorts.

Peyton Manning

Peyton Manning’s name hardly requires any introduction. This is a guy who is considered one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game of football. Being the middle child, Peyton got to experience some of his dad’s NFL career first hand and he also followed in older brother Cooper’s footsteps by playing quarterback. Peyton had an excellent college career with the Tennessee Volunteers and was the number one prospect heading into the 1998 NFL draft for many scouts, experts and analysts.

With a career spanning a glorious eighteen seasons, Peyton went on to become the most famous Manning of all. The five-time MVP and two-time Super Bowl winner have set tons of records in the league. Peyton was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts and spent a good fourteen seasons with them before finishing his career with the Denver Broncos. In 2021, the NFL recognized his work on the field and immortalized his name in the Hall of Fame alongside all of the greats to have played this wonderful game.

Eli Manning’s Wife

Eli Manning first met his future wife Abby Mcgrew when both of them were studying at the University of Mississippi. Mcgrew was born in Nashville, Tennessee. The couple spent close to six years with one another before finally tying the knot in 2008. Although Abby graduated with a degree in family and consumer sciences, she went in a different direction and studied fashion design in New York when Eli was drafted by the Giants. At one time, she worked for the famous designer Pamella Roland.

Eli Manning’s Kids

Eli and his wife Abby are parents to four very beautiful kids. Their firstborn Ava was born in 2011 and is 12 years old. She is studying in the sixth grade and has taken a liking to cheerleading. The couple’s second child is daughter Lucy who was born in 2013. Lucy, now 10 years old, enjoys watching football as does everyone else in the family. Caroline, the third-born though likes football and has a special inclination towards hockey. Eli was on hand to encourage and support Caroline when she had her first hockey practice. Charles, the only boy, is the youngest at five years old, and he has already started playing football with his father.

Eli Manning’s Net Worth

With quite a successful and long career in the NFL, Eli has accumulated a vast fortune for himself. He is reported to be worth a massive $150 million. Indeed, most of his wealth has come from his time in the NFL as one of the top-rated quarterbacks. In addition to that, he has also made quite a name for himself with brand endorsements, TV appearances, and business ventures.

From his NFL contract, he was earning close to $18 million per year during the peak of his career. In all, he has earned over $230 million in salary just from his football contracts alone.

Eli Manning’s Endorsements

Eli Manning has had endorsement deals with several brands along the way. The most noteworthy of these are Toyota, Nike, Gatorade, Kraft, Reebok, Samsung, DirecTV, Citizen, Hublot, Visa and more. Through his endorsement deals, Eli has been earning a solid income of approximately $8-$10 million per year.

Eli Manning’s Investments

One of Eli’s major investments is in a mobile-focused ticket platform known as SeatGeek. This platform enables its users to purchase or sell tickets for various events. He and his brothers have invested $35 million into this platform. Furthermore, Eli has invested a colossal $100 million in Whoop, which is a performance optimization system. To boost the performance of athletes, Whoop tracks their recovery, training, and sleeping hours. Another $50 million has been invested in Step, which is a financial services company. Its focus is on building mobile-based banking services for teenagers.

Eli Manning’s Achievements

Being a top-level quarterback in the NFL for so many years and with one organization is bound to reflect well. This is exactly the case with Eli as he has set an astonishing amount of records for the Giants. In particular, though, are some of the most memorable achievements of Eli Manning’s football career.

• Two-time Super Bowl Champion (Super Bowls XLII and XLVI)

• Two-time Super Bowl MVP (Super Bowls XLII and XLVI)

• Walter Payton Man of the Year (2016)

• Four-time Pro Bowler (2008, 2011, 2012, 2015)

• Bart Starr Award

• Maxwell Award

• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award

• NFL record for most consecutive completions to start a Super Bowl with 9 (Super Bowl XLVI)

• Third all-time on the list of most consecutive starts as a quarterback in the NFL with 210.

• Tied for the longest-ever pass and a touchdown in the NFL: 99 yards

• Led the league with the most passing yards in a single postseason: 1,219 yards

• Most completions and attempts in a single NFL postseason: 103/163.

The above are just some of the prominent records and achievements in Eli Manning’s football career.

Eli Manning’s Diet

During his playing days, Eli Manning was not known much for his workouts with gym equipment. Yet, it would be a surprise for many to find out how lean and fit he always was. His teammates have pointed out that he had his routine when it came to the right kind of food that he would eat. He used to have the same thing for breakfast daily and even though he called it ‘not exciting’, he said that he could feel it whenever he didn’t eat healthy. So, his breakfast would consist of oatmeal and lots of fruit, egg whites to add some protein, and maybe some peppers or turkey. His other meals also were very consistent and hardly changed much. He would also make sure to eat a lot of veggies and some amount of carbs to keep up the energy. However, they had to be the right amount of carbs.

Eli Manning’s House

Playing for the New York Giants franchise for 16 long years, Eli Manning and his family have settled in and made New York their home. Apparently, in 2017, Eli bought a new house located in Quogue, New York. This house in the Hamptons was reportedly purchased by Eli for approximately $8.5 million. The property is a huge 7,000 square feet and comes with five bedrooms, a pool, and a large deck that leads to the beach.

The Mannings are considered by some as the ‘First Family of Football’ with such high-profile quarterbacks to have played the game starting from Archie Manning to two of his sons. Now, as Peyton and Eli have both stepped away from the NFL, the Mannings are slowly but steadily getting ready to root for a new member - Arch Manning (Cooper Manning’s eldest son) who very well may make his way into the league as yet another signal caller.