Faultless Eli Manning Allegedly Did A Scam

New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning—two-time Super Bowl winner, future Hall Of Famer, uncontroversial scold, and recent recipient of the Walter Payton Award honoring excellence on-and-off the field—might also be a scam artist. And if we aren't referring to this potential scandal as Eligate by the end of the day, we're all doing something wrong.

According to a "smoking gun email" obtained by the Post, Manning allegedly worked with Giants managers to bilk collectors into buying gear that they were told was worn during NFL games but actually was not. The incriminating emails were filed in court earlier this week in connection with a civil racketeering suit brought against the Giants by three memorabilia dealers.

The emails—sent from an AOL account, of course—begin with Manning writing to equipment manager Joe Skiba in 2010: "2 helmets that can pass as game used. That is it. Eli." Twenty minutes later, Manning emailed his marketing agent who'd requested the helmets: "Should be able to get them for tomorrow." That marketing agent, Alan Zucker, had requested the game-worn materials as part of Manning's contract obligation to Steiner Sports.

In a statement, lawyers for the Giants said, "The email, taken out of context, was shared with the media by an unscrupulous memorabilia dealer and his counsel who for years has been seeking to leverage a big payday."

The suit also alleges that the Giants deleted emails proving Manning's role in creating the not-actually-game-worn equipment. According to the plaintiff's attorney, a previously disclosed exchange from 2008 shows that Manning, not wanting "to give up the real stuff," asked Skiba to procure "BS" replacements.

That conversation was allegedly revealed by Skiba to plaintiff Eric Inselberg, who first filed this suit against the Giants three years ago. In 2011, Inselberg, along with five other memorabilia dealers, was indicted by the FBI for selling fake game-worn jerseys. The other defendants pled guilty, but the Justice Department eventually dropped charges against Inselberg, after he argued that Skiba and other members of the Giants, who served as witnesses in the case, had lied to the grand jury about their own fraudulent schemes.

(If you're wondering if it's typical for the FBI to get involved in the business of adult men buying and selling their favorite players' dirty clothing for ludicrous sums of money, the answer is...yes. Just last month, the feds launched an international manhunt after Tom Brady's Super Bowl jersey was stolen from his gym bag. Thankfully, Tom Brady got his shirt back.)

The suit against the Giants alleges that Inselberg's reputation was greatly damaged by the FBI investigation. His co-plaintiffs include one Giants fan who paid $4,300 for a helmet that he was led to believe was worn by Manning during the 2007 Super Bowl run. That purchase, the co-plaintiff said, is actually just a "$4,000 paperweight."

The trial is scheduled to begin on September 25th. Hopefully someone will contact this Bro and ask him what he knew and when he knew it.