Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is no longer interested in buying a minority stake in his old team, telling CNBC Sport on Wednesday that he’s been priced out.
“Basically, it’s too expensive for me,” Manning said in an interview. “A 1% stake valued at $10 billion turns into a very big number.”
Manning’s comments come as team valuations skyrocket.
In CNBC’s Official NFL Team Valuations published in September, the Giants were valued at $7.85 billion, ranking fourth among the league’s 32 teams.
In December, the Philadelphia Eagles sold a minority stake in the team at a valuation of $8.3 billion — roughly $1 billion higher than where CNBC Sport had valued the team a few months earlier. In May, the San Francisco 49ers sold a 6.2% stake at a valuation of more than $8.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. CNBC’s September valuation marked the 49ers at $7.4 billion.
And last month, the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers agreed to sell the majority of the team at a $10 billion valuation, far higher than the franchise’s $7 billion valuation according to CNBC Sport’s Official NBA Team Valuations, published in February.
Manning said he doesn’t have interest in buying a stake in any other NFL team and that he believes the Giants are deserving of a $10 billion valuation. He also said other complications contributed to his decision to withdraw his name.
“I wouldn’t be able to talk to players that I coached in the Pro Bowl. It was going to affect my day job,” said Manning, adding there could have been conflicts of interest with his role on ESPN’s ManningCast, the alternative Monday Night Football broadcast that he co-hosts with his brother, former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.
Eli Manning made more than $250 million in career earnings from the Giants and many millions more from endorsements. He owns a production company — Ten Till Productions — and is a partner in the private equity firm Brand Velocity Group.
Minority sale continues
The Mara family, which has owned the Giants since the team’s founding in 1925, currently owns 50% of the team. The Tisch family has owned the other half since 1991.
Both families hired Moelis & Company to explore a potential sale of “a minority, non-controlling stake,” they said in February.
There’s been renewed interest in NFL ownership in recent months. Last year, the league voted to allow private equity firms to take stakes of up to 10% in teams.
CNBC reported in May that investor Julia Koch had submitted a bid for a minority stake in the Giants. Former New York Giants defensive end Michael Strahan and billionaire Marc Lasry also teamed up to make a bid, Sportico reported in May.
Manning said he still plans to be very involved in the Giants organization. He told CNBC Sport he has already spoken to the team, focusing on advice to the rookies, earlier this year.
He is also a minority owner in the National Women’s Soccer League’s Gotham FC and TGL’s New York golf team.
