Eli Manning stunned Giants fans last week when he revealed he had only just now taken his first subway ride, despite spending his entire 16-year NFL career playing in New York.
On Monday night, the Giants great had a pretty good reason why he never opted for that form of transportation.
During Monday night’s broadcast of the "ManningCast," Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning began teasing his brother about the fact that he never braved the subways despite his tenure in New York.
"Eli, this was very shocking to me, I thought you were a man of the people," he quipped. "You’ve lived there since 2004. First time riding the Subway? Disappointed."
Eli first pointed out the obvious that, despite the name, the Giants play at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
"I am a man of the people. I live in New Jersey. I’m not in the city that often. I was in the city last week. I had to get from uptown to downtown – I hopped on the subway. I’m a man of the people."
He also pointed out that it was a business decision.
"It was in my contract when I was playing, I wasn’t allowed to ride the subway. I could get pushed in front of a train."
NFL contracts unsparingly bar players from participating in activities outside of football that could risk injury. According to an ESPN report from June, those activities range from high-risk, like rock climbing and skiing, to other sports, like playing basketball.
In 2023, former Buffalo Bills running back Nyheim Hines was injured during the offseason in a freak jet ski accident. He missed the entire season after he tore his left ACL and MCL, and the Bills were off the hook for his contract. According to EPN, they eventually reached an agreement, and he was released in March.
Arch Manning went through a closely followed recruiting process before deciding on Texas.
The quarterback comes from a family synonymous with football. His uncles, Peyton and Eli Manning, and his grandfather Archie all spent their college football careers at Southeastern Conference schools before they made the leap to the NFL. Texas joined the SEC this year.
Arch saw limited action during his freshman year at Texas. He played more this season with a stint as a starter in place of an injured Quinn Ewers.
The 19-year-old Manning won't be eligible to declare for the 2025 NFL Draft. But his grandfather appears to have already given some thought about where the Longhorns star could wind up should he make it to the professional ranks.
While the former New Orleans Saints quarterback would like to see his grandson remain at the college level a couple more years, he prefers to watch Arch in a Dallas Cowboys uniform.
"Nobody’s ever asked me that. Right off the bat, if somebody asked me, I’d say Cowboys," Manning said, smiling in a video posted to TikTok Dec. 6.
Archie doesn't have direct control over what would transpire in a draft class featuring Arch, but he has wielded influence in the past.
Eli Manning was drafted by the Chargers in 2004, but Archie and other members of the Manning family are believed to have cautioned the franchise against picking the quarterback. Eli was drafted by the Chargers and sent to the New York Giants via trade, a move many contended was a result of his family's wishes.
The Cowboys have not advanced to a conference championship game since the 1995 season, but the franchise arguably remains the league's most high-profile team.
Manning has thrown for 939 yards this season. He also threw nine touchdowns and two interceptions in his seven appearances for the Longhorns. He has also shown an ability to use his legs, rushing for 95 yards and scoring four touchdowns on the ground in 2024.
Manning had one rushing attempt for five yards in Texas' 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia in the SEC championship in Atlanta Saturday.
They may not be going head-to-head on the football field anymore, but the rivalry between Tom Brady and Eli Manning continues to rage on in a hilarious way after the latter poked fun at the former’s recent social media post.
Brady showed off what he did during Thanksgiving weekend as he posted an Instagram carousel, which included a shirtless picture of a fight he caught out at sea.
"A little warmer than it looked in Buffalo last night," Brady captioned the post, referencing the snowstorm that blew through the Buffalo Bills-San Francisco 49ers game in Orchard Park, New York, on Sunday night.
The shirtless picture of Brady, though, was the subject of Manning’s X post that had many cracking up as he placed his own fishing picture next to the New England Patriots legend’s.
"Cute Minnow, Tom!" Manning wrote, implying the fish he caught was bigger and better.
Brady, who lost twice in his two Super Bowl meetings with Manning’s New York Giants, wasn’t going to let him get away with that. So, he responded over the post.
"You use a helmet to catch that one too?" Brady said.
Of course, the reference is to the David Tyree catch in Super Bowl XLII, where Manning heaved a 32-yard desperation pass to Tyree, who needed his helmet to catch it through tight coverage.
The catch went down in history as one of the most important in NFL history as it extended the Super Bowl-winning drive, which was capped by a Manning touchdown to Plaxico Burress with seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Giants, a wild card team out of the NFC that year, beat the undefeated Patriots.
Then these two teams matched up again in Super Bowl XLVI, where Brady’s Hail Mary at the end of the game didn’t have the same magic as the Tyree catch, hitting the turf for the Giants upset yet again.
Now, Brady’s career is legendary, and many consider him the greatest to ever play the game. But Manning is considered one of the best in crunch time at the quarterback position after his years with the Giants, and beating Brady in those two Super Bowls is a feat many can’t say they’ve done.
So, these two have been poking fun at each other since their playing days came to an end, but of course, it’s all in good fun. Brady even brought it up recently in his Fox broadcast for the Giants-Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day matchup.
While Brady is a shoo-in to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year on the ballot down the road, Manning is currently in the process this year, with many debating if he should get a bronze bust in Canton, Ohio.
Earlier this month, Eli Manning learned he was one of the semifinalists for the 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame modern era class. The two-time Super Bowl champion, who retired after the 2019 season, made the list in his first year of eligibility.
But this week, a Hall of Fame voter put a damper on the idea that Manning could receive enough votes to become an official member of the Class of 2025. "The general consensus seems to be Manning will eventually get into the Hall, even if it's not this year," the voter told ESPN.
Candidates must reach the selection committee's 80% threshold in order to get voted in. But, Manning's candidacy has become polarizing.
There are several arguments that could be made when making a case for or against the retired quarterback. He showed his ability to play at an elite level during the run to the aforementioned Super Bowl titles, throwing a combined 15 touchdowns against just one interception during those postseasons.
Arguments against Manning's candidacy include the fact that he was never named to an All-Pro team during his playing career. While Manning did compete in an era that also featured Tom Brady, his older brother Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, the absence of at least one All-Pro nod could weigh heavily in the minds of some voters.
Furthermore, Manning finished his career with a regular-season record of 117-117. Many star quarterbacks and Hall of Famers finished at least one season in the NFL's top spot in touchdowns or passing yards —Manning never accomplished either of those feats.
He did, however, throw the most interceptions in the league in three separate seasons. Manning retired from the NFL with 244 career interceptions.
But, there have only been a dozen quarterbacks who have won multiple Super Bowl titles, and Manning is among that exclusive group.
In all likelihood, Manning will ultimately become a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame — it just remains unclear how long he will have to wait to receive the coveted gold jacket.
The Hall of Fame selection committee will soon trim the semifinalist list down to 15 finalists. After another round of polling takes place, a list of 10 finalists will be revealed. Lastly, a group of seven finalists will be announced.
Every member of the committee will then be allowed to pick five of the seven names for the final vote.
The Daniel Jones Era in East Rutherford, New Jersey, has all but officially come to an end, as the New York Giants have benched their franchise quarterback with the expectation that they will opt out of his contract following what has been a tumultuous 2024 season.
Head coach Brian Daboll confirmed the reports that Jones was moved to third string and Tommy DeVito, who has been in that position all season, was vaulted to starting quarterback. DeVito won three games as a starter last season with Jones and Tyrod Taylor both hurt.
But DeVito likely isn't the future at quarterback for the Giants, despite being a fan favorite. That leaves Daboll, general manager Joe Schoen and the rest of the organization scrambling back into the war room to figure out the age-old question for any NFL team: Where can we find a franchise quarterback?
There are a few schools of thought, but Giants legend Victor Cruz has another question that will be answered in due time.
How badly do the Giants want Arch Manning – the nephew of the man who used to throw Cruz passes that led to his salsa touchdown celebrations, Eli Manning.
"Well, it’s interesting, right? I’ve already done this little mental deep dive on this," Cruz told Fox News Digital about the Giants' quarterback situation, while also discussing his partnership with Captain Morgan. "So, the question is, if I’m a Giants GM, if I’m John Mara, if I’m those guys up top, do I want Arch Manning?"
Arch is a sophomore in the Texas Longhorns' football program, but he has yet to be a starter with Quinn Ewers running Steve Sarkisian's offense the past two seasons, including 2024.
However, the expectation is Arch will take his place as the next great Manning in the NFL at the quarterback position, and he's already shown flashes of what he can do this season when he had to take over for an injured Ewers.
So, while some Giants fans will expect a rookie quarterback to be drafted with a high pick – the Giants currently own the fourth overall pick if the season ended today – Cruz thinks this is the question that needs to be answered first in pursuit of the next great Giants quarterback.
"Is it a thing where we have a stopgap year, where we just draft talent, we draft guys, we build our roster? And then the following year, you got to do everything you can to get Arch Manning," he detailed. "Trade up, trade down, trade left, trade right. You gotta figure out how to get Arch Manning, if that’s what you want, because he’s going to put butts in the seats, he’s gonna have the Manning aura around him, which obviously New York fans know and love very well.
"Is it a stopgap year, and we go get Arch, or is it Shedeur [Sanders] or is it Cam Ward, which I love both of those guys, and I wouldn’t be mad if those guys were wearing blue next season as well?"
Sanders, the son of Deion Sanders, has shined for the Colorado Buffaloes, while Miami's Cam Ward consistently leads his team to victory even in the face of adversity, a quality Cruz likes to see from a quarterback.
Those two are expected to be among the top quarterbacks taken in the 2025 Draft, while Arch won't be able to declare until the following year. Ewers will also come out of Texas this year, making way for Arch to be the sole starter in Austin, where many believe his draft stock as a high first-rounder will be cemented.
"I think he’s also a baller," Cruz said of Arch. "I think he’s faster than any Manning we’ve seen thus far. We can throw it, he has that thing about him, and I think he’s a great player."
There's no doubt the Giants' quarterbacks room will be vastly different in 2025, but the organization must figure out what the right move is in terms of filling it. Giving Arch the opportunity to follow down his uncle's path would likely mean having another down season to secure a high draft pick, or trading away a bunch of other picks to move up for the opportunity to take him.
And what's not to say Arch doesn't stay for his senior season in 2026, opting to come out for the 2027 Draft instead?
To counteract that possibility, do the Giants simply use the top pick they're expected to have this year to grab a rookie quarterback, perhaps bring in a veteran as well, and hope they can compete again in 2025?
It's never a thought any team wants to have heading into Week 12 of the season, but at 2-8 following the bye week, and the evaluation of Jones resulting in his benching, the Giants have to be thinking about what to do next even with a few games left on the slate.
GETTING CREATIVE WITH CAPTAIN MORGAN
While Cruz is trying to answer the Giants’ quarterback question, he’s also excited about his latest collaboration with Captain Morgan, specifically what he and fashion designer KidSuper cooked up as part of the company’s "Follow the Captain" scavenger hunt.
Cruz discussed how much fun he had creating a crewneck sweater with KidSuper that pays homage to his trademark touchdown dance.
"Our crewnecks are dropping with myself, Captain Morgan, KidSuper. [The crewnecks] definitely embody my style, like my swagger, got the little salsa love on there as well," Cruz said. "I’m definitely excited about this one, not just for people to go out there and see it and wear it and purchase it, but to just be part of the crew. I think getting this crewneck makes you part of the squad, part of the team. So, when you see me outside, and you’re rocking your crewneck, and I’m rocking mine, it just brings it all together and brings that team atmosphere together."
The crewnecks are dropping on KidSuper.com, but once they sell out there, fans can head to FollowTheCaptain.com for a chance to win merch, NFL tickets and much more as part of the scavenger hunt.
"Captain Morgan, they just love adventure. They love scavenger hunts, they love doing things for their fans. Not just making it easy for fans, but making it exciting and making it fun."
