Eli Manning shed some much-awaited light on the reason behind holding out on playing for the San Diego Chargers (now the Los Angeles Chargers) when he was the number one overall prospect coming out of college in 2004. Manning infamously refused to play for the Chargers even after they drafted him.
Turns out Manning did not want to play for the Chargers after witnessing the state of affairs at the top of the club at a dinner prior to the draft. He saw the Chargers' head coach, general manager, and the owner butting heads with each other at the Marriott hotel in New Orleans.
It was enough for the Manning family to blacklist the Chargers as a possible destination. Manning recalled the dinner while appearing on Bussin' with the Boys podcast:
I just didn't feel like they were the most committed team to winning at the time. Marty Schottenheimer was the head coach. He was awesome, [I] had great respect for him. They came to work me out in New Orleans, went to dinner, [and] there was just friction between the head coach, the general manager [AJ Smith], the owners [the Spanos family]; they were all yelling, kind of like fighting.
Manning remembers coach Schottenheimer yelling at the management about holding a dinner at such an extravagant hotel in the middle of New Orleans. That one night decided Manning's future. The Chargers drafted him as foretold, but Manning held out with the help of his retired quarterback father, Archie Manning. On the same day, the Chargers traded Manning to the New York Giants in exchange for Philip Rivers and a 2004 third-round pick, which San Diego used on drafting kicker Nate Kaeding.
Manning played all 16 seasons of his NFL career with the Giants. He led the G-Men to a couple of Super Bowl victories, both by defeating Tom Brady's New England Patriots. He retired in January 2020.
According to Pro Football Reference, as many as 17 quarterbacks were selected in the 2004 draft, drawing comparisons with the class of 1983 featuring Jim Kelly, John Elway, and Dan Marino.
Manning became the first quarterback selected in 2004. Three picks later, the Giants drafted Rivers and traded him to the Chargers for Manning. Just seven picks later, another famous quarterback was drafted.
At 11th overall, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Miami of Ohio quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. However, the Steelers apparently had eyes on Manning. Manning revealed:
[The Steelers] end up taking [Ben] Roethlisberger and had great success. I knew they were in the mix for a quarterback, but I didn't know if they would trade up or [if] I would slip to 11.
It worked well for every party involved. Big Ben helped guide the Steelers to two Super Bowl victories and is the last Steelers quarterback to taste playoff success back in 2016.
Manning's NFL career ended on a .500 record (117-117 wins/losses). He won two Super Bowl MVPs, four Pro Bowl honors, and the rare privilege of defeating Brady in the postseason, not once but twice.
Manning completed 4865 passes (60.3%) for 57,023 yards, 366 touchdowns, and 244 interceptions during his tenure. He first became eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025. However, he fell short. He tried his luck once again in 2026, but the result was the same as last year. Then again, he's generally expected to eventually earn his way into the Hall of Fame.
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