Eli Manning kept piece of memorabilia from his 45 minutes as a Charger
The official NFL record book and Eli Manning’s plaque when he someday enters the Pro Football Hall of Fame will record for posterity the fact that Manning spent his entire career as a member of the New York Giants.
But for a brief moment in April of 2004, Manning was a member of the San Diego Chargers, who selected him with the first overall pick in the draft.
Manning, however, followed in the footsteps of John Elway, who in 1983 dissuaded the Baltimore Colts from drafting him, saying he would never sign a contract with the team. That stance that precipitated the Colts, who picked Elway first overall, trading him to the Denver Broncos, where he had a Hall of Fame career.
By holding the Chargers’ feet to that same fire, Manning got himself traded to the Giants for a 2004 third-rounder (which became kicker Nate Kaeding), a 2005 first-rounder (linebacker Shawne Merriman), and quarterback Philip Rivers, who the Giants had taken fourth overall in the 2004 draft.
The trade worked out pretty well for all involved. The Giants got a quarterback who twice triumphed over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl, while the Chargers got three guys who between them have gone to 12 Pro Bowls and netted a pair of first-team All-Pro selections, one each for Merriman and Kaeding.
And while Manning is linked forever to the fortunes of his team in East Rutherford, he does have one keepsake from 45 minutes spent potentially destined for sunny San Diego.
Turns out Manning still has the No. 1 Chargers jersey he held up alongside then-commissioner Paul Tagliabue in one of the most awkward draft day photo ops in NFL history.
Manning went on the Dan Partick Show earlier this month to comment on one of the weirdest collector’s items in football.
Patrick asked Manning if he kept the jersey after he got traded.
“I did,” Manning said. “I think my mom had it for a little bit, and I think she tried to, she’s like, ‘Well we don’t need this,’ and tried to give it away to somebody.”
Eli’s father Archie Manning then stepped in, and in a gesture that memorabilia collectors should definitely buy him a beer for, advocated for the family to keep it.
“I think my dad wised up and just said, ‘You know, let’s just hold on to that for a rainy day, it might be a good story,'” Eli Manning said. “So it’s in possession, so just to have that for a rainy day.”
And just because fate deals weird hands to the gamblers at the poker table of life, Manning has never beaten the Chargers. The teams play only once every four years because of the way NFL schedules work, and San Diego/Los Angeles is 4-0 against the Giants in Manning’s career, including a 27-22 win last season.
The other team Manning’s never beaten? It’s the other team notable for having been held for ransom by a first-overall-pick quarterback.
The Colts are 3-0 against the Giants in Manning’s career, but Manning will get a crack at the team his brother Peyton made his name playing for when the Giants and Colts face off in Week 16 on Dec. 23.
Just one other question remains unanswered. Does Philip Rivers still have his draft-day Giants jersey?
If so, the two quarterbacks should get together, auction the jerseys off, and raise a ton of money for charity.
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