Eli Manning Hopes That Travis Kelce Doesn’t Take Over His Monday Night Football Job When He Retires (Exclusive)
Eli Manning is a bit worried about his Monday Night Football spot.
Speaking to PEOPLE’s Janine Rubenstein at the SiriusXM set on Media Row in New Orleans, Eli, 44, praised Travis and Jason Kelce‘s sibling bond and compared it to his own with brother Peyton Manning. The two sets of brothers recently united for an episode of the Kelces’ podcast New Heights, and Eli tells PEOPLE that Jason and Travis are “great.”
“You see the dynamic, the brother duo between Travis and Jason. They’re having so much fun,” says the former New York Giants quarterback. “They rag on each other. That’s the great thing about brothers. You can’t be sensitive around each other. Everything is open. Everything you can just be called out for.”
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Although New Heights had a list of talking points, Eli says the four “quickly” strayed from the script, because “you never know the direction [when] you get two brothers.”
He jokes, “I just hope [Jason and Travis] don’t come take Peyton and I’s job. When Travis eventually retires down the road, they’ll probably be doing Monday Night Football instead of us.”
Eli spoke with PEOPLE ahead of the Super Bowl to celebrate the NFL FLAG Players of the Year Presented by Toyota Award, which will be awarded at the NFL Honors. The accolade highlights two standout athletes whose skill and dedication exemplify the flag football league’s values on and off the field.
Eli and Peyton, who retired in 2020 and 2016, respectively, have hosted MNF (also known as Manningcast) since September 2021. Meanwhile, Jason announced his retirement from the NFL in a March 2024 press conference. Travis, on the other hand, doesn’t intend to hang up his helmet anytime soon.
Asked by reporters where he plans to be in three years, Travis answered, per NBC News, “Hopefully still playing football.”
He explained during the opening night press conference, “I love doing this, I love coming into work every day. I feel like I still have a lot of good football left in me. We’ll see what happens.”
