Giants’ Eli Manning could be adding a prestigious award to his shrine

From the Super Bowl rings to the Super Bowl MVPs to the infamous Walter Payton Man of the Year Award; Eli Manning‘s hardware collection outshines those of many others.

But the former Giants quarterback could be adding another prestigious honor to his shrine…

The #SportsEmmys nominees for Emerging On-Air Talent are
Malika Andrews | @malika_andrews @espn
Julian Edelman | @Edelman11 @paramountplus @SHOsports
Eli Manning | @EliManning @espn
Greg Olsen | @gregolsen88 @FOXSports
Taylor Rooks | @TaylorRooks @BleacherReport @TurnerSportsPR pic.twitter.com/20hKFCCggo

— Sports Emmys (@sportsemmys) April 6, 2022

That’s right. The co-star of the Manningcast (the alternate ESPN2 Monday Night Football broadcast that launched in 2021), and star of Eli’s Places (an ESPN+ program that discovers the ins and outs of college football across America) is up for a Sports Emmy. He’s in the “Emerging On-Air Talent” category.

The Big Apple for years knew how Eli could use his awkward personality to blossom dry humor. But over this past year, he was able to broadcast that talent to a larger television audience, leading to this extraordinary nomination.

The Manningcast was wildly successful — both Eli and Peyton Manning brought big-name guests (including Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, and Bill Parcells) onto the program to watch the coinciding MNF matchup, provide analysis, and talk about all things football and life. It’s what led to the program’s three-season extension on ESPN2 and opened the door for other broadcasts of the same format, such as the Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi broadcast for the Women’s NCAA Basketball Final Four.

You can go back and forth on the programming decisions ESPN has made over the years. But the worldwide leader throwing cash at the Mannings has proven beneficial — this Sports Emmy nomination is further proof of that.