Before the 2004 NFL Draft, there was no question who would be the No. 1 overall pick. Eli Manning was the unanimous choice. This meant that the then-San Diego Chargers were going to land a franchise quarterback. It’s just, it didn’t happen that way.
Eventually, it became known that Manning did not want to play for a Chargers franchise that had missed the playoffs for eight consecutive years. Still, the spin at the time was that it was Eli’s father, former NFL QB Archie Manning, who made the power play to ensure that his son arrived at a more favorable destination.
However, now after 22 years Ellie has revealed business with boys Podcast that it wasn’t her father’s idea. It was actually Eli who had no interest in playing for the Chargers.
Manning said, “My parents weren’t really supportive. My father didn’t like the idea.” “Now, he came to my defense and supported me after everything went down, but he didn’t like it. And later, he bore the brunt of a lot of criticism because he came to my defense and people were saying, ‘Oh, you played in New Orleans all those years where you didn’t win, so you’re trying to dictate where your son is going to go.’ And he just bit his tongue and said, ‘Hey, this is what Eli wants to do and I support him’ and he did some media to try to save me from doing all the media and taking the hit.”
Manning said he did not feel like the Chargers were “most committed to winning at that time.”
The Chargers acquired an incredible asset by trading Manning to the New York Giants. In exchange for Manning, the Chargers received Philip Rivers, Shawn Merriman and Nate Kaeding. Meanwhile, Manning led the Giants to two Super Bowl wins, and the rest is history.
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