- 4 months ago
If an athlete explicitly tells you not to draft them, maybe it's best to listen! It’s night one of the 2004 NFL Draft, and as owners of the Number One pick the San Diego Chargers messed around and found out. They wanted a quarterback, and by all accounts, the top-rated prospect of the draft was QB Eli Manning out of Ole Miss University. Buttttt, Eli didn't want to be a Charger. What followed was a set of bizarre events that shaped two franchises and may never be repeated ever again during a draft night. San Diego’s decision to draft Eli Manning was a Big Deal.
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00:00Uhhhhhhhhh okayyyy.
00:04Unless it's a reality TV show, drama being the spotlight of anything doesn't sound very
00:09positive.
00:10It's night one of the 2004 NFL Draft and as owners of the number one pick, the San
00:16Diego Chargers fucked around and found out.
00:20They wanted a quarterback and by all accounts, the top rated prospect of the draft was QB
00:25Eli Manning out of Ole Miss University.
00:28They had the number one pick, so they selected the number one guy.
00:32Simple enough.
00:34I said simple.
00:37Damn media members always trying to dramatize everything labeling the draft as bizarre.
00:42What's so damn bizarre about a player fulfilling his wish?
00:46Why can't folks be happy?
00:48Well uhhhh that's a bit awkward.
00:52San Diego's decision to draft Eli Manning was a big deal.
00:58Eli Manning, first of his name, son of Archie, brother to MVP winning QB Payton, was pretty
01:05damn good at slinging the football as well.
01:08In the 04 Draft, teams were itching to add him to their roster to be the future franchise
01:13quarterback.
01:14The Chargers kinda brought this upon themselves.
01:18Not in scaring Eli away, although that's kinda true as well, we'll get to that later, but
01:23more so Eli's disinterest in the Oregon public in the first place.
01:28Eli and his camp, which included his famed footballing dad Archie and agent Tom Condon, went to the
01:33Chargers and asked the organization to pass on drafting him.
01:38Eli wanted to keep things on the hush between him and the franchise, but Chargers general
01:42manager AJ Smith took to the press and said,
01:46Hey, can you believe this dude doesn't want to play for us?
01:50That was the message at least, but it didn't appear to come straight from Eli.
01:56When Smith revealed the news during the week of the draft, it seemed like a game of telephone
02:00where Archie expressed to agent Tom Condon, he'd rather his son play for the New York Giants,
02:05who owned the No. 4 pick, and Condon in turn then relayed that message to Smith.
02:11The GM understood Archie's wishes, but as the leader of the franchise, believed it was
02:15in the best interest of the organization to keep all of their options open.
02:20Meaning, Yuhai was very much still in play.
02:23Smith holding his ground and not being bullied by outside demands seemed impressive, but in
02:28reality, he didn't have solid footing.
02:32When Archie met with the Chargers in person earlier that same week, he had already voiced
02:36his concerns to the team about drafting his son.
02:40And for whatever reason, Smith treated Archie's position as a big secret he couldn't wait
02:45to get off his chest.
02:47Smith unnecessarily spilling the beans seemed like a terrible leverage play, but Pandora doesn't
02:53go back in the box, and once the info was out there, the man in camp stood on business.
02:58While visiting the Giants for a workout, Archie confirmed the validity of the conversation
03:04with Smith, but denied ever mentioning any preference for Yuhai to land in New York.
03:09Although he did confirm talking with the NFL commissioner about the issue.
03:14Condon took it up a notch and threatened that his client would sit out the entire season if
03:19San Diego ultimately drafted Yuhai, which wasn't an unheard of warning.
03:24In 1983, quarterback John Elway told the Baltimore Colts to own their number one pick he'd rather
03:29play baseball than suit up for the franchise.
03:33The Colts ultimately drafted Elway to call his bluff, but a week later, Baltimore owner
03:37Robert Ursay traded Elway to the Denver Broncos without then-GM Erica Corsi's knowledge.
03:44Crazy enough, of course, he later became the GM of the Giants and could have benefited being
03:48on the other side of a player forcing their way out of a situation.
03:52When asked if Smith saw himself getting L-Wade by Manning, he didn't even want to touch the
03:57topic.
03:58While now every owner, journalist, and their mother knew Eli didn't want to join the Chargers,
04:03his camp didn't give any specifics as to why, leaving ample room for speculation during
04:09a draft period where misinformation already runs rampant.
04:11For Archie, many believe Eli's dad simply wanted to protect him from a cursed career
04:18like he experienced during his days in the pros.
04:22Drafted second overall in 1971, Archie had an excellent career, mostly spent banished to
04:28a dismal New Orleans Saints team.
04:31Fans showed up at games with paper bags over their faces, just to paint a picture of how
04:35trashed those teams were.
04:37But at least Eli could spend his days in beautiful, sunny California and hang by the beach.
04:43The Chargers couldn't be that bad, right?
04:46Well, let's just say Eli dodging San Diego was yet another blemish on the running problems
04:52the organization faced.
04:55When the franchise landed the second overall pick in the 1998 draft, San Diego got burned
05:00by selecting quarterback Ryan Leaf, who flamed out of the league shortly after.
05:05The Chargers could have very well selected Eli's brother Peyton Manning, who the Colts debated
05:10taking first overall up till draft night.
05:14Leaf was famously known to have immaturity issues during his time in San Diego, but the
05:18team reportedly left him out to dry at times, leaving an awful impression on the Mannings
05:23as Leaf was friendly with the family.
05:26In 2001, strapped with the number one overall pick, the Chargers decided to pass on drafting
05:31QB Michael Vick trading the rights to the Atlanta Falcons, where Vick went on to be an
05:36immediate success, leading Atlanta to the playoffs in his second year.
05:41San Diego, on the other hand, was allergic to the playoffs, posting an abysmal win-loss record
05:48since their last appearance in 1995.
05:51If missing the playoffs for eight straight years and whipping on personnel decisions wasn't
05:56enough to stamp the Chargers as a bottom-tier org in the NFL, having America's first football
06:02family say you weren't worth their time certainly didn't help.
06:07Then there was the curious case of Agent Tom Condon.
06:10Besides repping Manning, Condon had a client list that included Chargers head coach Marty
06:15Schottenheimer, star running back LaDinion Thomason, and supposed quarterback of the future Drew
06:21Brees.
06:22That supposed future wasn't even that long ago.
06:26In 2001, the same year they passed on Vick, San Diego selected Brees at the top of the
06:31second round with a 30-second overall pick.
06:34The Chargers planned to start quarterback Doug Flutie that season, but a pick of that nature
06:39indicated Brees would have a legitimate shot to be the guy going forward as then-Office
06:44of Coordinator Norv Turner gushed about his abilities.
06:47In 2002, Brees earned a starting job and finished with a solid year, but those QB of the future
06:54plans hit a stall when he was benched in the middle of the following season.
06:59Seems a bit quick to give up on a guy, so the Chargers could stand pat and give Brees another
07:03chance.
07:04Well, no.
07:06Smith didn't draft Brees, and in his second year as GM, he eyed either a veteran QB to
07:12take the reins or grab a fresh prospect in the draft.
07:16Smith also learned that Condon wasn't a fan of how Schottenheimer used quarterbacks, and
07:20with Thomason becoming a star in the league, it wouldn't make sense for the agent to place
07:25another dude on the roster who could potentially outshine his client.
07:29With as much fuss that was made about Manning and his camp not wanting to play for San Diego,
07:34Smith and the Chargers brides never flat out said Eli was their guy.
07:38Even before the Manning mess, one option for the Chargers was to trade down and instead
07:43of swinging for the fence as the Atlanta franchise quarterback, grab a multitude of picks to help
07:48address the many desperate needs on the team.
07:52Smith was open to it all and ready to make a deal only if it felt right.
07:57The cause came, but Smith kept his car as close to his vest.
08:01If Eli was the dude, no contract talks were being had days before decision time.
08:07The GM did his due diligence and exhausted his options in what was labeled a strong draft.
08:13The team had met with the University of Iowa tackle Robert Gallery, who was believed to
08:17be the best lineman in the draft and led it atop the big board of many pundits.
08:22The Cleveland Browns reportedly made a strong offer to San Diego to snag Gallery with the
08:26top pick, but Chargers brides believed that it would open the door for division rival Oakland
08:31Raiders to snag Manning with the second pick.
08:35After trading top receiver David Boston in the offseason, just a season after signing
08:39him to a new deal, the Chargers met with top receiver Larry Fitzgerald at the Combine,
08:44who could have filled a need out wide.
08:46Eli also wasn't the lone QB in this draft.
08:51Head coach Marty Schadenheimer praised Phillip Rivers and Ben Roethlisberger as well.
08:56San Diego reportedly even fancied Rivers heavily and had the option to trade down to acquire
09:01him later in the draft if they thought he was a better fit.
09:04The options seemed endless, and his team sent smokescreens one after another.
09:10Come draft day, Eli felt there was nothing left to say.
09:14All he could do was sit and await his fate.
09:18As the football world watched along, with the number one overall pick in the 2004 draft,
09:23the San Diego Chargers selected...
09:25Wait, is that a hostage?
09:29Holy shit, they did it.
09:32Yes, that's Eli Manning standing alongside his family and the commish, holding a Chargers
09:37jersey with a visibly forced smile on his face.
09:42They gave him the matching hat as well, but he didn't seem to want to wear it.
09:46Was it too small?
09:47Did he not like the colors?
09:49Oh, he really just didn't intend to play for San Diego.
09:55Journalists were calling the Chargers the new Cincinnati Bengals after their decision.
10:01For context, Cincinnati didn't have a winning season for 13 years in a row leading up to
10:06the draft.
10:08So yeah, not good.
10:12But Smith and the Chargers holding their ground in what could ultimately be a stalemate between
10:16their franchise and their reluctant top pick, wait a damn second.
10:21Was that Eli with a real smile on his face, now flexing a Giants jersey and wearing the
10:27hat?
10:28What the hell happened?
10:31About an hour into the draft, New York selected quarterback Phillip Rivers fourth overall and
10:36flipped his rights to San Diego alongside a package of picks.
10:40It was a shocking development as the Chargers seemed fully prepared to roll with Eli, but
10:45Smith felt confident in the return for his franchise.
10:49Many experts felt the same, believing the Giants kinda got fleece giving up way too much
10:55to acquire Eli.
10:57Which was a win-win for San Diego as Eli seemed fully prepared to sit.
11:03Ultimately, the trade worked out well for both franchises as the Giants went on to win
11:08two Super Bowls with Eli, and the Chargers found years of sustained success escaping the
11:13basement floor of the NFL with Rivers as their franchise QB.
11:17But now, years removed from the trade that shook up the league, all parties involved could
11:22come clean.
11:24Smith said it took a covert operation to execute the transaction.
11:29Besides brief discussions, Smith had very little contact with the Giants leading up
11:33to draft day.
11:35Smith claimed to have used what he called a shadow within the organization, purposely
11:40dropping info that he had full confidence would ultimately get back to New York.
11:45The league talk was meant to get the Giants in gear, so once Smith did make the call on
11:49draft day for a trade, New York would be prepared to make an offer that San Diego deemed sufficient.
11:55And boom, once the call was made right at the expected time during the draft, the deal was
12:00done.
12:01Honestly, it just seems like a necessary Jedi mind trick on account of Smith who could have
12:05brokered a deal leading up to the draft the entire week if he knew that was the plan all
12:11along.
12:12But hey, I'm just a video producer and not a GM, so as long as it worked to the Chargers'
12:17benefit, that's the bottom line.
12:19While Eli seemed resistant for years to explaining his reasoning for dismissing San Diego, at one
12:24point saying he flat out forgot, in post-retirement, he felt compelled to finally let it all out.
12:31During a 2021 podcast episode of 10 Questions with Kyle Brandt, Eli revealed it wasn't his
12:36dad who masterminded the whole thing, but instead just wanted to take the heat off him.
12:42Throughout the draft process, Eli just felt San Diego wasn't in the right shape as a franchise
12:47and used the little pool he had as leverage.
12:50The truth shall set you free.
12:53In a sweet bit of irony for Smith and San Diego, the Chargers ended up as one of the two teams
12:58that Eli faced but never beat during his 16-year career.
13:02San Diego never won the Super Bowl while Manning was with the Giants, but they did at least hold
13:07him winless during his career.
13:09That's something at least.
13:11As the power slowly shifts more and more toward the players, it wouldn't be surprising if an
13:16athlete refused to play for a franchise and we see a similar trade happen at the professional
13:21level.
13:22History seems to repeat itself, but in the age of information where we can get non-stop updates
13:27at the tip of our fingers, it'll be tough to imagine a trade of this magnitude happening
13:32right up until the final hour, at least unless another franchise is willing to tell on themselves
13:39similarly to San Diego.
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