The REAL Reason Eli Manning REFUSED to Play for the Team That Drafted Him

[@SheGotSports]

To clarify Archie is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame *not* Pro

[@randallross420]

Saints Hall of Fame also ⚜⚜⚜

[@iamhungey12345]

I wonder how his career could have turn out if the Saints at the time weren't almost complete trash in a decade that was among the worst times to be a NFL QB.

[@randallross420]

@@iamhungey12345 With a competent coach and offensive line he could have been one of the best of that era.

[@GhostOfexistence-c7j]

Archie and the owner Alex Spanos do not vibe is the truth to it its a on the surface be nice thing but underneath a not happening thing. If Eli would of went to the chargers no they wouldn't of won a superbowl either it's the chargers culture they have had all world qbs all world talent and always fall short this was about the manning legacy. Archie wanted both his sons to win a superbowl. I'm from the south we know the story;)

[@St.Twizz214]

They’re both ass

[@12thMandalorian]

"God sent me to stop Tom Brady and I can't do that in San Diego." - Eli Manning

[@SheGotSports]

LOL 😂

[@CKpremium1992]

Chargers played the Brady led pats 3 times in the playoffs and lost each time.

[@12thMandalorian]

@@CKpremium1992 sounds like standard Chargers in the Play Offs

[@iamhungey12345]

@@12thMandalorian Lost to the Jets in the playoffs twice even.

[@seansmall9910]

"Slow down" Tom Brady.... 7 > 2

[@V.Perez1985]

If the reason is the Spanos family, that would explain a lot.

[@chizorama]

The big winner was Drew Brees getting out of that crap organization & winning a Lombardi for Archie's old team while beating his son...

[@Lunar_Valkyrie]

Just nice both of them were able to get out of that hellhole of an organization early on.

[@wferg1121]

What people often forget is, that Drew Bree's met Eli at Peyton's playoff debut while he was still a junior at Purdue and Eli was a Sr in high school. So Archie, and the Mannings were very familiar with Bree's well before that draft and it might have went back as far back to when Bree's was in highschool in texas. Alot of those old articles are now behind paywalls, but when Bree's signed with Sain'ts he even talks about "rekindling" his relationship with Archie. So I am pretty sure that may have been another reason Eli and the family didn't want to go to San Diego. I believe they saw Bree's as an ascending player, and the next 2 years in San Diego, kind of demonstrated that.

[@spyrojones3444]

Honestly Archie Manning got drafted by the "Aints" and had his career wasted with poor teams. He didn't want that for his son. By the numbers, Rivers was arguably a better QB, yet Eli is the one with 2 Super Bowl MVPs. Not taking anything away from Eli, but the Giants team building, especially on the DL, was a huge factor in those Super Bowls wins.

[@MrEOM41]

And a great running game so they were pretty balanced on offense too.

[@369Alien]

I always wondered why Eli didn’t want to play in sunny San diego

[@toyotoyo8410]

"I forgot" lmao

[@SheGotSports]

Classic Eli answer lol

[@CrackpotSports]

As a San Diego Chargers fan, I used to blame Eli, but it was always the Spanos family who screwed everything up

[@hermunkulus]

Wild how this was twenty years ago.

[@SheGotSports]

So crazy

[@CGMedia2023]

The Chargers wasted Fouts' career, poorly handled Ryan Leaf, and had a reputation for being where quarterbacks go to die.

[@tmofog]

Archie Manning is NOT a Hall of Famer evidenced by his lifetime 125 TDs and 173 INTs

[@MazeDaGr8]

Well in his defense, he spent 13 years with the Saints when they were absolute garbage. He was the only person trying most of those years

[@tmofog]

@@MazeDaGr8 But he's NOT a Hall of Famer and whomever produced this should have at least tried to look that up first.

[@Mike_Goldberg]

He is in the College hall of fame.

[@yourtoonosey]

Running for your life or being smashed INTO the afroturf is not the road to the Hall of Fame. The Aints were.......I have no adequate words for how bad the aints were.

[@sharksbreath7]

That actually worked out well for NY, SD, and Pittsburgh. No titles for SD but you can't put that on Rivers, he was great.

[@SheGotSports]

Yeah crazy how it worked out so well for each team

[@JuanMartinez-xf3uz]

Norv Turner is to blame. The Chargers had the number 1 offense and defense one year and somehow managed to finish 8-8 and missed the playoffs.

[@asoncalledvoonch2210]

The chargers had Drew Brees and they wanted to draft Eli. Then they get Philip Rivers in a trade and trade away Brees. That's some Cleveland Browns level stupidity

[@JuanMartinez-xf3uz]

Brees was coming off major surgery to his throwing shoulder. He even failed a physical when Miami considered signing him to a contract. Rivers is a HOF talent, I doubt they're kicking themselves too hard.

[@asoncalledvoonch2210]

@@JuanMartinez-xf3uz True. But if your goal is a Superbowl ring they failed because as talented as Philip Rivers or LaDainian Tomlinson was, they never won a Superbowl. Whereas Brees and the saints git a ring. Even if they were cheating and doing bounties on the other team, they still won. Philip is an absolute hall of fame for sure.. But when they got him they had no idea of what he would be. They had high hopes amd he was basically the 2000's version of Dan Fouts.

[@Adamdidit]

The fact that they still picked him (and almost certainly leaked him privately saying he didn't want to go there) really speaks volumes. Its not like this was some scrub class of players. It was wall to wall stacked. They could have selected one of multiple HoF qbs or multiple HoF players at other positions. They did this while giving up on a future HoF QB 2 seasons into his career, too. The Mannings were right about the organization.

[@DebateBoyzPodcast]

Damn Eli Escaped the chargers curse To go beat the goat 2 times in the Super Bowl 🔥🔥

[@Daniel-bm5gf]

I had no idea they had contaced ryan leafs camp. Giants took a huge risk tho back then tbh

[@SheGotSports]

yeah its really crazy it worked out

[@iamhungey12345]

@@SheGotSports In addition it should be noted that the trade left the Giants with just 4 picks in 2005 draft and they got it right in 3 of these.

[@johnjuly854]

I call bullshit he didn't want to compete against his brother in the AFC

[@jasonwethy8360]

Maybe but the rest is true to. The Chargers are a crap organization when it comes to supporting players.

[@skeezix8156]

I think I saw you called bullshit on another video. You’re only allowed to call things so often, but we’re all glad you called it because now it’s validated. Good call sir

[@dashien2605]

Or it was just poorly ran franchise

[@iamhungey12345]

@@dashien2605 Wasting massive amount of talents are the Chargers' forte.

[@dashien2605]

Guy in white tshirt and jeans throwing things on stage. Yea, you can tell this the early 2000s😂

[@brotherjohnwaynecausey]

Great video Lauren, glad you are ok and your city didn't get struck in that earthquake last week

[@Andrew-et4yf]

I've always wondered this. Very cool to learn all this, definitely didn't know everything in the video.

[@thehembis9027]

Fumbling Drew Brees and Eli Manning is such a Chargers thing to do

[@briandejean6785]

Archie Manning is NOT in the Pro Football HOF. The popular narrative is that he played on really bad Saints teams. The reality is Archie was the highest paid player in the NFL. New Orleans couldn't afford enough talent to even be competitive because they ridiculously overpaid Manning. It was SO ridiculous that the Saints, Oilers and Vikings were all paying part of Archie's bloated salary in the waning years of an underachieving career. Archie Manning has nothing but his own greed to blame for not being in the HOF. Peyton and Eli may've been even more successful if they'd taken a few Bradyesque haircuts, but the greed gene runs deep in the Manning family. If you ever want to see how copper wire's made, toss a penny between Archie, Peyton and Eli.

[@DPaul-z9b]

In their defense, almost all players(who don't have sports deals) try to get as much money as they can get (Also, Arch Manning Jr only joined Texas because of all the NIL money)

[@okhondaguy3288]

Chargers got Leaf then ended up with the one qb out of the 3 to not win a Superbowl.

[@arkwill14]

That was back in the day when the Chargers were in the same club with the Browns and Jets - aka: Teams where highly drafted QBs go to get their careers destroyed. The Charger got out with Rivers, but the Browns and Jets are still there. The Panthers and Bears seem to be doing their best to join that club...and, ironically, the Giants as well lately.

[@hipstereagle6050]

Mike Florio claims that Eli met with Chargers Head coach Marty Schottenheimer and General Manager AJ Smith together and noticed that the two of them didn’t see eye to eye on who they wanted to take in the draft. The Mannings noticed the dysfunction in the Charger organization and were proven right when Smith fired Marty after a 14-2 season

[@torri1254]

Great video, I've always wanted to see something like this happen in my day. The idea of it is still crazy to me.

[@ryan_2007_walls]

Hello there gorgeous tremendously terrific Torri❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@bigboricua4573]

Because of the cheap owner Dean Spanos, he knew he wouldn’t get any help at all and he was right

[@quann06]

This happened when I was younger. Me and my friend talked about it. I was probably in school still talking about it. But I remember that we thought it was crazy at the time.

[@acenyojer44]

for me that was a win/win for giants and chargers

[@quann06]

God bless you!! Congrats on the 100k subs.

[@jeremy9127]

There is so much more to why he didn’t want to go San Diego. Notoriously the owner for chargers was known for being the cheap skate of the league only doing the bare minimum to keep the franchise afloat. He was in it solely for the money. He much isn’t bad him, but who would want to play for someone like that. Look at Rivers, he had HoF career. A couple lucky seasons here and there because of the chemistry of the team. But Spanos refused to dip into free agency. This day and age it’s a must.

[@ryan_2007_walls]

Ben Roethlisberger had a better Rookie Season then Manning because Roethlisberger won the Rookie of the year with the Pittsburgh Steelers 15-1 record he started all 13 games with zero losses got to the AFC Championship game lost to New England but a year later Big Ben won his 1st Super Bowl Championship Ring vs Seattle in 2005 2:40

[@1201zj]

Big Ben could have been the first Rookie QB to start in the Super Bowl. Crazy to think.

[@ryan_2007_walls]

​@@1201zjYes that's so true for real I agree

[@19EHF]

Correction arch Manning is in the college Hall of Fame not the NFL pro football Hall of Fame

[@untitle161]

As a Chargers fan! It could be a lot of reason. From 1983 to 2003 the Chargers only made it to the playoff 3 times. I heard that Eli wanted to go to a bigger market. Also I heard that it could be because of the Chargers ownership.

[@49ers_red_and_gold2]

Hey Lauren, how old were you when Eli played?

[@GhostOfexistence-c7j]

Had nothing to do with what eli wanted it was archie that made that decision trust me on that.

[@bradypreston8472]

Great video Lauren

[@SheGotSports]

Glad you liked it!!

[@ryan_2007_walls]

Eli Manning 1st Round 1st overall pick in 2004 NFL Draft Ole Miss by Chargers until a Trade happened New York Giants selected Philip Rivers 4th overall pick Eli Manning and Philip Rivers exchange teams and Eli Manning won two Super Bowl Rings in 2007 and 2011 with the Giants becoming the only Quarterback in NFL's History to beat the greatest QB and greatest coach of all time in Super Bowl's but Philip Rivers had a wonderful phenomenal career with then San Diego Chargers but no Super Bowl trips not once plain and simple 4:06

[@godlyleprechaun947]

The Philly special

[@sdpumas619]

Helluva career move! Props to pops for looking for him.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

I'd need to go find who said it, but wasn'Ernie also involved in the 1983 draft with Elway also not wanting to play for the team who drafted him as well? To be fair, Elways not wanting to play for the then Baltimore Colts, I can kind of understand given how the team was in 1982, methinks Elway got the better end of that deal

[@briandejean6785]

He was.

[@briandejean6785]

The problem in Baltimore was Robert Irsay. He was a TERRIBLE owner and Elway's idol was Bert Jones. Bert and Irsay had a TERRIBLE relationship that resulted it litigation, career-ending injuries and a trade to the Rams. Coincidentally, Bert Jones ALMOST ended up in San Diego after retiring. He was in a QB skills competition and Chargers GM Bobby Beathard was so impressed with the then almost 40YO former MVP that he tried to sign Bert, but doctors wouldn't clear him.

[@jacekatalakis8316]

@@briandejean6785 It's just amazing the butterfly effect Ernie Accorsi had, he drafted Elway and had to trade him then could not avoid meeting up with Elway's Broncos in the playoffs. Having read up a bit on Bert Jones., Ernie's name comed up yet again and he got high praise as a QB but the way some of the hits are described makes me wonder just what he would have done career wise at another time in NFL history

[@iamhungey12345]

@@jacekatalakis8316 Accorsi wasn't the one who traded him, in fact he felt he could have gotten Elway to come around to staying with the Colts before Irsay made the move behind his back. That was the reason why he resigned from the Colts after that mess.

[@cliffordyamasaki6169]

Thats funny,phil had 3 kids when drafted now 10

[@ogeevandross7611]

Don’t be mad at Deion for doing this for Travis and Shadeur 🤷🏿

[@onewiththepackpodcast]

congrats on 100k

[@DMS-pq8]

Be really funny if the Chargers draft Arch Manning in a couple of years

[@SheGotSports]

Omg 😂

[@julesmum9781]

The family probably won't let him go there

[@JJman6547]

We bout to have a re run of this with sheduer sanders and the giants lol

[@DirtMaguirk]

Makes me wonder what a Eli, LaDanian, and Gates team would have done.

[@MaxCustomKicks]

Y’all wouldn’t have gotten LT Chargers used the Giants pick to draft him

[@iamhungey12345]

@@MaxCustomKicks Tomlinson was drafted in 2001 bud. If you mean Merriman, he was close to LT's level for few years before his knee caved in.

[@MaxCustomKicks]

@@iamhungey12345 yeah you where right man the Chargers didn’t get anything from that trade other then Rivers who you could’ve took at 1

[@iamhungey12345]

@@MaxCustomKicks Not a Chargers fan, quite the opposite. Just here to add some correction since LDT had nothing to do with 2004 draft (I have no idea how you got that one mixed up), the Chargers did get talents from the picks they got in the trade but they didn't really last long enough to really help them in the long run. Plus in addition to Merriman's roided up seasons that led to his knees caving in, there's Kaeding who is unsafe for kids due to being a choking hazard when it counts. Even Tynes wasn't that bad in the postseason.

[@MaxCustomKicks]

@@iamhungey12345 i forgot, getting old it happens

[@louieo.blevinsmusic2011]

Always thought it was super lame that players would do this. Obviously it worked out for NY but just thinking it’s ok for a franchise to essentially use two 1st round picks, a 3rd and a 5th to obtain you is pretty weak……especially if you have to call on daddy to do so.

[@nunyabizness5851]

I always assumed he didn’t want to be in the AFC with his brother. That way they could be in the SuperB owl together.

[@TheBrothersBlue]

Damn that was a great recounting! Thought i knew the story but wow... Awesome stuff dude✊🏽

[@SheGotSports]

Thanks so much!!

[@sawyerhinck2471]

That’s a crazy story and not to nation also brought the giants two Super Bowls.

[@crooster1]

Congrats to 100k subs! Well deserved even tho u are a Giants fan (GO BIRDS!).

[@SheGotSports]

Thanks so much!

[@ryan_2007_walls]

The real reason why Eli Manning didn't want to play for the Chargers in 2004 Draft it's because that he didn't want to be the Ryan Leaf 2.0 in Sunny California

[@CKpremium1992]

As a chargers fan I don’t blame him I wouldn’t want to play for Dean Spanos either.. one of the worst ran organizations in the NFL.. Rivers ended up being the better QB but Eli was able to win 2 SBs so I guess it worked out..

[@jasonyale4647]

Rivers was not the better QB. No rings. Choke city. Eli beat Brady twice. This isn’t even a contest. Eli > Rivers.

[@CKpremium1992]

@@jasonyale4647 rings are a team stat. Individual stats are individual stats. Rivers was the better qb and that is a fact.

[@jasonyale4647]

@@CKpremium1992 wrong. So Tom Brady isn’t the GOAT? He doesn’t have 7 rings. His team has them. He was carried to all those championships. Every QB is on equal terms. Interesting argument you have made here. It’s about winning. Being clutch in the biggest moments. Rivers did nothing. He was a joke. Simple.

[@CKpremium1992]

@@jasonyale4647 Brady literally leads every passing stat by a wide margin. 🤡

[@TheBeefSlayer]

Oh my gosh. Chargers could have had Ben Rothlisburger. 😱 He is wayyyyyy better than Manning. B R played for Miami of Ohio and I saw him play one game in college on TV and was amazed by him. I was like “who is that amazing giant QB with a cannon!!!!???” Wow…. Imagine the chargers w Ben. They still would suck. 😂

[@PeteyThePanda]

He didn’t want to play Martyball

[@ronnieam33]

The Charges shit the bed so much that even the city of San Diego doesn't want them around anymore.

[@SchizoAction]

Drew Brees and the Saints got the best deal of them all out of that scenario.

[@teflonjohn4018]

Would the Giants have been better keeping Rivers or drafting Ben?

[@calibrazxr750]

It doesn't matter, both were better than Eli. The Giants won those two championships in spite of Eli, not because of him. Many of his career stats are very average and the rest inflated due to the rule changes that make almost every modern day Qb look like a hall of famer.

[@khanhnguyen-tt3ff]

​@@calibrazxr750 lol that sound like slot of hate coming thought. Those two sb run for giant eli have to pull bullshit play out of his ass to win those sb. The defend for giant in those two year was middle of the pack cause they cannot stop the run at all, but their pass rush are great.

[@iamhungey12345]

@@khanhnguyen-tt3ff Plus the Chargers had more offensive talents during those times as well. The main defense that can be given to Rivers is that the guy should keep Kaeding away from his kids, last thing you need is a choking hazard near them. Seriously it wasn't just the Jets game, the guy was 8 for 15 in the postseason overall. Also it should be noted that they each had different offensive system and the Giants had at the time was a high risk high reward type which can lead to turnovers if things goes wrong. It was basically a modified version of what Gilbride used to run during his time with the Oilers where the passing game relies on option routes with elements of Erhdart-Perkins added in. I'm personally not a fan of that offensive system due to how frustrating it gets at times but in the end what matters? You guessed it.

[@yepdontcarebud]

​@calibrazxr750 another stat nerd who never cracked a playbook or buckled a chin strap...

[@gerardwadman9293]

Archie Manning is not a Hall of Fame QB. Unless you count the NO Saints HOF.

[@erfanrahman8416]

I wonder if he was in 2024 draft. He and Caleb Williams are same

[@cutehumor]

Make fun of the chargers. Drafting rivers led to San Diego to draft Justin Herbert. Giants went from Eli manning to Daniel jones the worst qb in the league 😂

[@PowerRangers12345]

Archie Manning is NOT a Hall of Famer. He is a Louisiana Hall of Famer. Feel like with a big channel like this that could have been vetted.

[@SheGotSports]

Read pinned comment

[@cosmostrek2001]

did eli wear the charges hat or put on the jersey.

[@SheGotSports]

He just held the jersey up lol no hat. Did wear the giants hat tho

[@ChiefCedricJohnson]

Zechariah 7:10 And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart.

[@TBEMike]

Take notes Caleb Williams

[@SheGotSports]

Zukoooo

[@jefferyreed4073]

I don't blame him for not playing for Chargers they wouldn't get him help they pissed away Tomlinson prime years an he wouldn't win a Superbowl for them Eli clutch Manning is one of my favorite QBs of all time

[@TheMick126]

Pop didn't want it

[@judewhite4401]

Well, the reason is actually pretty simple: the Chargers were ass in 2003.

[@thunderbolts2438]

Just bring this bleak time in Chargers history makes me want to vomit.

[@zytrik1]

Imagine preferring a Super Bowl winning quarterback like Drew Brees over a bum like rivers. 😂

[@cliffordyamasaki6169]

Wow!great revelation.everybody was happy.eli,phil,drew,ben and ryan.btw check his criminal history,even back on the air now.

[@Krq11]

San Diego now los angeles

[@ryan_2007_walls]

To this day Eazy-E still owns Brady and Belicheck 4:20

[@bradolson3510]

Unless Eli his dad and Peyton come out and tell us what happened it ain’t the truth

[@SheGotSports]

This is legit what Eli said in interviews post retirement

[@j.r.fleming764]

Archie Mannong in the HOF??

[@Seaborg-m7h]

He beat Brady TWICE in the SB 🏆🏆 proving that the REAL G.O.A.T. has ALWAYS been #16 Joe Montana 🏈🏈🏈🏈

[@cliffordyamasaki6169]

Eli better than peyton,won 2 before him,know why? Big brother bullied him into toughness.not a hater like him either.humiliated in worst sb loss ever and brady hates him.

[@erikscream]

Why do you sound like that?

[@jasonyale4647]

I wouldn’t want to play for the chargers either. Hahah.

[@mikemontegary4835]

Chargers were a shitty organization at the time

[@blazeyprime4470]

So Eli is just 100% riding on his family name huh? wow nepobaby all the way.

[@buffalopregame5904]

He's a jerk lol and he probably didn't want to play in the afc with Peyton

[@darrellmessbarger3827]

Spanos family....nuff said.

[@kennethmays8059]

I must have missed the part where you told us the real reason.

[@1201zj]

Cause San Fran was the gay capital at the time so Archie said no. Jk but honestly that could be a legit factor

[@ConstitutionalConservative1776]

Should be. I wouldn't want that evil in my back yard

[@RobertFixit]

I will still take Rivers over the Eli any day.

[@MalaysianGoldSilverStacker]

So you're taking the guy with no SB rings over the guy with 2 rimgs and 2 MVPs? Ok.

[@RobertFixit]

@@MalaysianGoldSilverStacker 💯

[@khanhnguyen-tt3ff]

Are sure this is the guy that manage not make it to the playoff inspite his team having the number 1 offend and number 1 defend😅😅😅. River stat are good but his record in playoff is like Tony Romo

[@jogendron6320]

Any day? Hmmm. There’s 2 particular days I would pick Eli over Rivers. Actually the whole thing, yeah gimme Eli please. Riiiiiiiiiiiveeeeeeeeeeeers 😂😂😂😂

[@iamhungey12345]

You can have him.

[@oddballskull1941]

He and payton also made a promise to their mom that they wouldnt play in the same conference at some point

[@JohnnyUtah-71]

Why the F would MOM care if they played in the same conference?????

[@bobleeswagger474]

As a lifelong Giants fan I always wondered how many rings we would have if Rivers played with us. Eli sucks. His two Super Bowl MVPs are because of our defense, not because of Eli.

[@andrelockridge9109]

Hey win win!!

[@moseschannel90]

Archie is not in the hall of fame

[@Anonymous0.019]

Archie Manning is most definitely not a HoF QB. Dude sucked.

[@jakewilson910]

Should have told them the reason why he chose not to play for the San Diego Chargers. He also should of played for the team that drafted him.

[@calibrazxr750]

"Hall of fame quarterback, Archie Manning". If you are going to make videos, at least do some rudimentary research. Glaring mistakes like this, makes your channel seem very amateurish.

[@SheGotSports]

Addressed this in another comment should have clarified college

[@calibrazxr750]

@SheGotSports ah, okay. I read a number of comments, but did not see that one.

[@SheGotSports]

@@calibrazxr750 no worries!

[@stephen300o6]

Eli said, and I quote "Derpy derp derp."

[@JuanMartinez-xf3uz]

The Chargers got Philip Rivers and Shawne Merriman for that trade. If it weren't for Norv Turner they'd have a lot more to show for it. Eli was pretty horrible for a while. Even Kurt Warner said he was probably the worst QB he'd ever seen.

[@Pokesalad222]

Crying eli😂😂😂😂

[@RedLeo-pf9yo]

Those two reasons on this video made absolutely no sense. So we still don’t know why he didn’t want to play in San Diego. One of the most beautiful cities in the world. might have to do with some free masonry.

[@ygrezzie]

He knew he couldn’t beat out Drew Brees

[@jimmorrison8477]

What a spoiled punk who played his best 2 games against the Pats.