Louisiana native and longtime New York Giants QB Eli Manning announces his retirement today after 16 seasons in the NFL. Manning attended Newman High School in New Orleans. Newman coach and longtime family friend Nelson Stewart says the accolades Manning has received is on brand with the young Eli.
“A born star, he has been the NFL man of the year, he’s just a pro and it is just so hard to find I think an athlete really not just in football, on that level of character,” said Stewart.
Manning has two Super Bowl rings. Stewart credits Manning’s calm under pressure and work ethic.
“You hear people call him Easy-E, I think not because he was easy-going…but he was calm,” Stewart said. “He stayed focused, he worked tirelessly. One thing I always heard about him was he was always the first one in the building he worked late.”
Stewart has no doubt that Manning is a future Hall of Famer.
“I think everybody can over analyze and look and think of things but to me he is one of the all-time greats his career without question stands on its own,” said Stewart.
Eli’s brother Peyton played 18 seasons in the league before retiring in 2016 and their father Archie played 13 seasons, much of that time as QB for the Saints.
