Eli and Peyton Manning were once the mega-prospects out of Isidore Newman with the famous name and golden arm.
But where their paths don't parallel their nephew Arch's will come in the ability to profit off his name, image and likeness, which certainly would've proved lucrative if the new rules had been in effect during their runs at Ole Miss and Tennessee, respectively.
Speaking at the Manning Passing Academy this week, the former New York Giants quarterback said he's wary of the pitfalls that could come with a windfall of cash for college athletes.
"I think there’s some dangers in giving an 18-year-old kid, a 20-year-old kid a big sum of money. How they’re going to spend that, if it’s going to go to good use or good causes, hopefully it does," Eli said. "But I worry about just spending it the wrong way, all of a sudden they’ve got to pay taxes on that, are they going to get into trouble down the line because they spend it all and don’t prepare for that."
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It's been suggested that Arch could earn in the range of $10 million as a freshman in college, based on the initial surge of endorsement deals since the NCAA adopted its new rules on July 1.
Eli said he hasn't spoken directly to Arch about NIL, and he wasn't able to see any of his games with Newman last year due to coronavirus. He expects to change that this season by getting down to New Orleans for high school football Fridays, and shared some ideas fro the QB wunderkind to consider.
“I would encourage him to wait until he is the starter, wait until he’s proven himself at a certain college before he starts doing anything," Eli said. "Or try to incorporate his offensive line or incorporate other players, kind of share the wealth, where you make it more team-oriented instead of 'me' oriented. That would be my advice for how I think I would do it at that time. I don’t think you want to go in and have a bunch of endorsement deals before you’ve taken a snap of college football yet.”
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Eli's elder brother Peyton didn't have any specific advice for Cooper's son, but said Arch flew out to Denver recently and they held a quasi-"minicamp," throwing sessions and film study.
"I do a little QB analysis for ESPN, I’ve got to keep that to the NFL," Peyton said. "I don’t do that for high school quarterbacks even if they’re related to me. I want him to have fun being a junior in high school, and I want him to enjoy this experience."
The Manning QB trio was hosting its 25th Manning Passing Academy this week, with athletes across 40 states descending on Nicholls State University in Thibodaux, Louisiana.