Eli Manning Offers to Help Giants Rookie Jaxson Dart Get Settled with the Team — Instead He Asks for an NYC Dinner Reservation

NEED TO KNOW

• Rookie Jaxson Dart made an unexpected request of Giants legend Eli Manning
• After the retired quarterback told the first-year quarterback that he was available for advice, Dart asked him to make a restaurant reservation
• Similar to Dart, who is veteran Russell Wilson's backup, Manning played behind future Hall of Famer Kurt Warner

Rookie Jaxson Dart is hungry in more ways than one!

While awaiting his turn to helm the New York Giants offense behind veteran Russell Wilson, the quarterback recently took Eli Manning up on his offer for advice — but it didn’t go exactly how the Giants great had planned.

“If you have any questions about anything I’m here for you, football-related or just when you’re deciding what town to live in or this or that,” Manning, 44, told ESPN’s Peter Schrager on The Schrager Hour podcast on Wednesday, Sept. 17 about his willingness to be a sounding board for the 22-year-old Dart.

“During training camp he calls me, ‘He’s like do you have a minute?’ ” Manning continued.

The retired signal-caller then shared that he thought Dart would ask him something along the lines of what it was like to play behind a veteran, since Manning did so behind Kurt Warner when he first entered the league.

But the New Orleans native then added that the Ole Miss product had just one question for him: “Can you get me a reservation at 4 Charles tonight at 6:30?”

“I was like, ‘No, no, no. That’s not part of the deal,’ ” Manning laughed, recalling the rookie’s request to dine at the popular NYC steakhouse. “When I said I’m happy to help out, I’m not doing that. I’m not your ‘reservations guy.’ You have to earn the right to call and get your reservation.”

The hilarious moment was not lost on the future Hall of Fame quarterback, who said elsewhere on the podcast that he is enjoying the perks of being a former — emphasis on “former” — New York City sports star.

“I always tell people, there’s not a better place to win than New York City,” said Manning, who played for the Giants for 16 seasons from 2004-2019. “Now, there might not be a worse place to lose or having a losing season or go into a bad slump than New York City, but … it’s all worth it to win a couple of championships here, it’s been unbelievable.”

For Manning — whose ManningCast with brother Peyton returns for the Lions-Ravens game Monday, Sept. 22 — it’s not the first time in recent memory that a request went sideways.

During their Monday night broadcast on Sept. 8 as the Minnesota Vikings beat the Chicago Bears, the youngest Manning brother revealed that Peyton, 49, sent a handwritten letter to Pope Leo XIV asking him to be a guest on the show.

"I think we should let the people know that you tried to book a big time guest," Eli said, before asking, "Is it true you failed to book Chicago native, Pope Leo?"

"Yeah, kinda like I failed to recruit Randy Moss to Tennessee, I couldn’t close the Pope," Peyton confessed. "But I made the effort, Eli," he continued. "That's the kind of effort we make here at ESPN2."

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