Eli Manning Reveals Why He's Staying at a Childhood Home for the Super Bowl (Exclusive)

Mom, he’s coming home.

Former New York Giants quarterback Elie Manningwho now lives with his wife and four children in Summit, New Jersey, is returning to his hometown of New Orleans for the 2025 Super Bowl — and he means it literally.

“The best part about going to the Super Bowl this year is I get to stay with my parents,” Manning, 44, told PEOPLE about heading to NOLA for the week before the big Sunday game February 9.

Manning, who grew up in the Garden District with his mother Olivia and his father, famed New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, as well as his two brothers Cooper50, and Peyton48 years old, is delighted to feel like a little child again.

“My mom will make me breakfast every morning,” he says, laughing, of the house he grew up in and where his parents still live.

“So it’ll be a lot of fun to be there, see my parents, and my two brothers will be there too. So it’s almost like a family reunion for the Super Bowl this year.”

Former Mississippi and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, left, stands with his mother Olivia Manning, center, and his father, former Mississippi and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning, during the son’s football jersey retirement ceremony during an NCAA college football game against LSU in Oxford, Mississippi, Saturday, October 23, 2021.

AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis

Manning, who retired from the NFL in 2020 after winning two Super Bowls with the Giants, is currently promoting the upcoming Verizon Fan Party event, which gives Verizon customers the chance to watch the Super Bowl for free at major stadiums across the country.

They will also be able to enjoy fan experiences like taking the field, meeting former NFL players and enjoying local music and food and drinks in each city.

“I think just the fact that fans can actually go to the stadiums, even go on the field and be there with local NFL legends, eat local food, watch local artists play music is awesome” , Manning said of the upcoming event. .

Verizon Super Bowl Fanfest allows Verizon customers to watch the game in stadiums across the country.

Courtesy of Verizon

He adds: “It’s just a great way to attend the Super Bowl with your family and friends. And it’s free.”

As for his own past Super Bowl victories? He says it’s a feeling that’s impossible to forget.

“Just think about how it all happened,” he says of what it feels like to win. “What you had to do, the hard work, the commitment, the dedication, the lucky breaks, the bounces that came your way.”

He adds that his two Super Bowl victories weren’t exactly expected.

“In both cases, we kind of snuck into the playoffs and then we just ran,” he says of the Giants winning championships in 2008 and 2012. “So we had some luck. But it’s just a great experience before the playoffs in the locker room afterward, just hugging every teammate, hugging every coach.”

He adds: “And the best part about winning championships, even 15 years later, when I see these guys and these teammates that you won championships with, it’s an automatic hug. And you hold on just one a little longer, because you experienced something so special together.”