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(Bloomberg) -- Former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is putting together an investment group to bid for a piece of the National Football League team, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
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In February, the New York Giants announced the Mara and Tisch families had retained Moelis & Co. to explore the potential sale of a minority, non-controlling stake in the New York Giants.
Manning, who led the team to two Super Bowl victories, including its last in 2012, has spoken to investors including retired NFL players, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
As much as 10% of the Giants is for sale, the people said, with the stake likely to be split among a number of different investors. In December, the Buffalo Bills sold a minority stake to 10 different investors including Bank of America Corp.’s Mike Joo, Accel-KKR’s Rob Palumbo, Gridiron Capital’s Tom Burger, Acrew Capital’s Theresia Gouw and Meritech Capital’s Rob Ward.
In January, Manning said he would like to buy a stake in the Giants if it ever came up for sale. “There’s probably only one team I’d be interested in pursuing,” he said in an interview with CNBC. “It’s the one I played for for 16 years.”
The effort to sell a stake in the Giants is ongoing, and no final decisions have been made, one of the people said. Representatives for Manning and Moelis didn’t immediately have a comment. The Giants declined to comment.
NFL teams have soared in value in recent years, largely boosted by significant media-rights deals. The Giants could be valued at about $8 billion, according to sports-team investors and advisers.
Manning is estimated to have earned more than $200 million during his sporting career, and has since built up his wealth from broadcasting income and advertising partnerships. The two-time Super Bowl quarterback is also a partner at private equity firm Brand Velocity Group. Manning also is a minority owner of Gotham FC, which counts Carolyn Tisch Blodgett as its governor.
The Giants are one of the five teams that joined the NFL in 1925, and have been owned by the Mara family since then. In 1991, the Tisch family bought 50% of the team. The Giants’ 2012 championship win was one of four Super Bowl victories in the franchise’s history.