The Giants retired the No. 10 jersey worn by two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning and added his name to the Ring of Honor at MetLife Stadium. Manning retired after the 2019 season.
He was walked to the stage by members of his offensive line. He finished his short speech by quoting the last Giants owner Wellington Mara who frequently said: “Once a Giant, Always a Giant.”
Manning held a
virtual conference call Thursday to discuss his career. During the meeting with the media, Manning was relaxed, smiled a lot and was open with his answers.
He
said he had no regrets about retiring and no desire to ever come back.
He made it clear that three straight losing seasons were a big part of
the decision to retire.
“You
know, the losses just hurt more,” the 40-year-old Manning said. “They
affect your sleep. They affect your week. It affects family life with
wife and kids. And it was just I just got too much.”
While
Manning knew it was time to retire, he had no plans. All he wanted to
do was reflect on the good and happy moments, the friendships he had
made and big wins they celebrated.
“I
wanted to take time away,” Manning said. “Football takes up a lot of
your time during the season, during the offseason, nights. So I wanted
to take a year off and just be around family and see if there is
anything else I wanted to pursue or wanted to be interested in and just
kind of step away.”
The
COVID-19 pandemic helped Manning maintain some solitude. After 12
months, he realized he still loved the game, but not as a player
anymore. He liked prepping for games, watching and analyzing film and
talking about football. He admits he doesn’t know the name of every
player on the field, but he likes rewinding plays and explaining them to
the audience.
“I
don’t know how to read a spreadsheet,” Manning said. “I don’t know
everything going on in the world all over the place. But I know the game
of football and I enjoy talking about it.”
It
led to a gig with his brother, Peyton, on “Monday Night Football,”
which also allowed him to remain at home, where he could be with his
wife and family, and coach his children’s sports teams.
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
One
thing that did continue was his appearances on commercials for cars,
hot sauces and barbecues. Some are with family members and he really
enjoys that.
“I
think those are always kind of a way to not take yourself too seriously
in a way to show your personality, and that was how I did it while I
was a player,” Manning said of the commercials. “Now I think it’s
another way to continue showing the lighter side of things.”
Manning
added to post-career jobs this year by joining the Giants’ front
office. His primary focus is marketing and business development. He is
involved in community initiatives, content creation and customer
engagement. There were a lot of days at training camp he talked with
select visitors at practices.
Manning
started wearing the No. 10 at Mississippi. His father, Archie, had worn
No. 18 at Ole Miss and the school retired it. Mississippi officials
offered to take it out of retirement for him, but Eli Manning declined.
He wanted a double-digit number and settled on No. 10.
After
being traded to the Giants by the Chargers on draft night, Manning
struck a deal on the telephone with punter Jeff Feagles to trade for the
number. It cost him a trip to Florida.
“If it would have been something outrageous. I probably would have moved on about it,” Manning quipped.
Manning
said there were many wonderful moments in his career. Naturally, one
that might have impacted his career the most was beating the
then-unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl in February 2008. It was the
first of two Super Bowls Manning and coach Tom Coughlin combined to win.
“I
mean, that whole playoff stretch was, you know, probably very, very
important in my career and in coach Coughlin’s,” Manning said. “We were
both on that line of: ‘Do these guys have what it takes or not?’ ”
The Giants played all four playoffs games on the road that postseason in winning the Super Bowl.
Manning
expected the ceremony to be emotional, but said he will focus on
members of the organization who were part of his career. His believes
his legacy will be starting almost every single week. He was durable and
said he worked hard every year to earn the respect of his teammates,
from the rookies to the veterans.
“It’s
going to be special. It’s obviously a very emotional day and kind of
one last farewell to all those fans wearing the No. 10, and all of them
that were supporting me during my time with the Giants continue to
support me,” he said. “And so as I appreciate their loyalty and their
support through all these years.”