New York Giants’ Eli Manning announces retirement

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning will hold a press conference to announce his retirement on Friday.

It has pretty much been a foregone conclusion that the Giants would be moving on from Manning after this season, and now that has come to pass.

“For 16 seasons, Eli Manning defined what it is to be a New York Giant both on and off the field,” said John Mara, the Giants’ president and chief executive officer. “Eli is our only two-time Super Bowl MVP and one of the very best players in our franchise’s history. He represented our franchise as a consummate professional with dignity and accountability. It meant something to Eli to be the Giants quarterback, and it meant even more to us. We are beyond grateful for his contributions to our organization and look forward to celebrating his induction into the Giants Ring of Honor in the near future.”

“We are proud to have called Eli Manning our quarterback for so many years,” said Steve Tisch, Giants chairman and executive vice president. “Eli was driven to always do what was best for the team. Eli leaves a timeless legacy with two Super Bowl titles on the field and his philanthropic work off the field, which has inspired and impacted so many people. We are sincerely thankful for everything Eli has given our team and community. He will always be a Giant among Giants.”

Eli will retire as the first player to suit up for the Giants for 16 consecutive seasons. Over those 16 seasons he has been a 2-time Super Bowl MVP, 4-time Pro Bowler, held the record for most 4th quarter touchdowns in NFL history (15, 2011), tied the record for longest touchdown pass (99 yards), tied the record for most game-winning drives in a season, and holds 27 different franchise records for the quarterback position.

Ernie Accorsi was the GM who engineered the 2004 trade for Manning.

“I learned very early that you evaluate quarterbacks on their ability to win championships, and to do it late in a game when the game is on the line, that they’re able to take a team down the field and into the end zone to win a title,” Accorsi said. “The second thing is to know that over a period of years, he’s always going to be there. Those kinds of quarterbacks always give you a chance to win, and for 16 years, he did that for this franchise. He won championships and he was always there giving us a chance to win. I don’t know how you can ask more from a quarterback.”

Eli will finish his career with the second-longest streak of consecutive starts among quarterbacks, sixth all-time in pass attempts, seventh all-time in passing yards, completions, and touchdowns.

He has also been named the Walter Payton Man of The Year (2016) and Bart Starr award winner (2020) for his exemplary character and work around the community.

We will be saying this many more times over the next week, but Thank You Eli.