Eli Manning Shares His Go-To Game Day Drink and Why He’s ‘Excited’ About the Giants’ Future: ‘Opportunities to Make Playoffs’ (Exclusive)
· Yahoo Sports
Credit: Jameson Irish Whiskey
NEED TO KNOW
- Eli Manning spoke to PEOPLE about his game day traditions, his partnership with Jameson and why his dad still makes a better old fashioned than he does.
- The two-time Super Bowl champion shared his optimism for the Giants under head coach John Harbaugh and praised young quarterback Jaxson Dart, whom Manning has helped mentor.
- Manning also opened up about former teammate Odell Beckham Jr.’s return to the Giants and shared which NFL teams he thinks could make a run this season.
Eli Manning knows a thing or two about throwing one back on game day.
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The former NFL quarterback, 45, revealed to PEOPLE that he hasn’t quite perfected his game day drink of choice, even if his dad and pretty much every other bartender have.
“A Jameson old fashioned has been my go-to. My dad got into those, and so he makes one better than I can,” the Giants legend laughs. “So I like to be with him and have him make me one. But definitely if I’m at a bar, they make it much better than me as well. But I’m enjoying the practice. I’m enjoying the work of making my own, just trying to get the right, you know, simple syrup or the bitters and get it all figured out. But it’s a fun process to work on.”
Manning recently partnered with Jameson to help kick off (pun intended) the brand’s America’s Biggest Round campaign, where football fans and curious spectators will have the chance to scan QR codes at bars around the country to get their first round of game day cocktails on Jameson’s $5 million tab.
“Football is so much about the fandom. It’s about the people. It’s about the traditions of who you’re watching it with, whether it’s your family or your friends, or you just go to the local bar and you have your game day pals or buddies and that you get to watch it with,” Manning says. “And I think Jameson wants to celebrate that, encourage that, reward these people by offering them the first round on them. I love that approach, and I’m happy to be about this and a part of this.”
Eli Manning raises a glass of Jameson at Buddy’s sports bar in NYCCredit: Jameson Irish Whiskey
Of course, part of watching the games means cheering on the New York Giants, where Manning played quarterback for 16 seasons, the entirety of his NFL career.
During his time with the Giants, Manning led the team to two Super Bowl championships in 2008 and 2012. Though the team hasn’t won the big title since Manning helped lead them to victory during Super Bowl XLVI, the former quarterback is confident that new coaching changes can lead the team there.
“I’m excited, John Harbaugh, just having him changing the culture of the franchise,” Manning says of Giants Head Coach John Harbaugh, who signed a five-year contract with the team starting this season. “When you have a franchise that hasn’t won a ton of games lately, you need to kind of have a coach that can bring that winning attitude where they expect to win and working on the things that’ll put them in a situation to win these close games.”
Malik Nabers of the New York Giants runs the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on January 5, 2025Credit: Mitchell Leff/Getty
That new mentality, Manning says, will be especially important as the Giants look to continue developing what’s set to be a promising young core led by quarterback Jaxson Dart.
“You have new guys like Jaxson [Dart] who are coming in and have shown signs of doing things the right way and have great abilities. So now it’s just getting them to where they’re playing at their highest level,” he says. “There’s a great young group of players, and I think with time, they’ll continue to get better and better and have opportunities to make playoffs and make a run.”
Manning has been a mentor to Dart, the Giants’ current starting quarterback, who led the team to a 28-20 victory over the Dallas Cowboys in the Giants’ home opener on September 13. Both share the same alma mater, Ole Miss, where they served as quarterbacks before being selected in the first round of their respective NFL draft classes (Manning in 2004, Dart in 2025).
Jaxson Dart of the New York Giants warms up prior to the game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium on September 14, 2025Credit: Ron Jenkins/Getty
“He obviously takes his job very seriously, but doesn’t take himself too seriously at times. I think I had that same approach,” Manning says of Dart. “He does a good job asking serious questions and listening to them and taking them to heart. I think he is very coachable. He wants to be great. He wants to be great for the right reasons and be a great leader and be a great teammate. And so I appreciate that, that he’s putting in the work and any help he needs from me, I’m happy to be helpful and guide him along his journey.”
Joining Dart on the field is Manning’s former teammate Odell Beckham Jr., who missed both the 2022 and 2025 seasons and returned to the Giants at the beginning of the 2026 season.
Eli Manning and Odell Beckham Jr. during the game against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi Stadium on November 11, 2018Credit: Rob Leiter via Getty
“I’m very excited,” he says of his former teammate. “I know he’s worked really hard to get back here, and he’s had injuries, and he had some bad breaks. So I know this is important for him and it’s been fun to root him on and talk to him during this process.”
Though Manning names the Buffalo Bills and the Denver Broncos as teams he anticipates will be “tough to beat” in the AFC and the Chicago Bears led by Caleb Williams as a team with the chance to be “really pretty special” in the NFC, this NFL season could still be anyone’s to win.
“That’s the great thing about the NFL. Each year, there’s gonna be some newcomers that you never thought about that someone makes strides or a receiver you didn’t really know about is playing well, a quarterback that’s kinda made that big jump maybe in his second or third year,” Manning explains. “So it should be exciting to see even in week one who played well in week one and who’s getting off to a fast start.”
Read the original article on People