Eli Manning Jersey Sales Surge After Benching by Ousted Coach

(Bloomberg) -- Eli Manning might be more popular as a backup quarterback.

Sales of Manning’s jersey surged more than 70 percent after his benching last week, compared with sales over the previous seven days, according to data from sports retailer Fanatics, which runs the NFL’s official online shop. The benching ended a streak of 210 consecutive starts by the New York Giants star.

Last week, Giants coach Ben McAdoo who was fired by the team on Monday, announced that Manning was being relegated to a backup role for the floundering Giants for the first time since November 2004.

Sunday, when the Giants took on the Raiders with Geno Smith at the helm, was the biggest sales day for Manning merchandise over the past month, according to Fanatics.

Reports have indicated that Manning could return to the starting role this week when the Giants take on the Dallas Cowboys at Metlife Stadium.

--With assistance from Eben Novy-Williams

To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Giammona in New York at cgiammona@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Lisa Wolfson, Jonathan Roeder

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