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Jordan Raanan
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Jordan Raanan
ESPN Staff Writer
- Jordan Raanan covers the New York Giants for ESPN and can be heard hosting on ESPN Radio. Raanan joined ESPN in 2016.
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New York Giants co-owners Steve, Laurie and Jonathan Tisch are requesting to transfer their stakes in the team to their children’s trusts, according to an NFL memo obtained by ESPN.
The move is subject to approval by the league’s finance committee, the memo shows. If approved, Steve, Laurie and Jonathan Tisch would “no longer own any interest” in the Giants, the memo states.
“Prior transfers to these Trusts were completed pursuant to 2023 and 2024 Finance Committee approvals,” states the memo, which is dated March 11. “The Sellers now propose to transfer their entire remaining interests, totaling 23.1% of the Club, to the Trusts. … Following the transactions, the Sellers will no longer own any interest in the Club.”
When reached Wednesday and asked about the ownership transfer, a spokesperson for the Giants said he had “nothing to add.” A league spokesperson declined to comment.
In January, Steve Tisch, who is executive vice president and chairman of the board for the Giants, appeared in the latest round of documents released by the Justice Department related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The documents showed scores of emails between Epstein and Tisch, in which Epstein repeatedly connected the co-owner to numerous women. Tisch also invited Epstein to the owner’s box for a Giants game.
Most of Tisch’s correspondence with Epstein appears to be from about 2013, the documents show.
“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” Tisch said of Epstein in a statement in January. “I did not take him up on any of his invitations and never went to his island. As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.”
Several team executives and one owner have told ESPN they expected an update on Tisch ahead of this month’s league meetings in Arizona. The people with direct knowledge of the requested transfer who had seen the memo said the move was part of normal succession planning.
Tisch has not been accused of any crimes. His future role with the team is unclear.
Epstein was arrested in 2019 on federal sex trafficking charges. While awaiting trial, he was found dead in his jail cell on Aug. 10, 2019. The coroner ruled his death a suicide. Epstein faced accusations of sexually abusing underage girls. In 2008, Epstein was charged with soliciting a minor for prostitution in Florida and became a registered sex offender. He served 13 months of an 18-month prison sentence.
The Tisch family co-owns the Giants with the Mara family, which has owned the franchise since its founding in 1925. Jonathan Tisch is the Giants’ treasurer and is on the board, and Laurie Tisch is also on the board. John Mara is president and CEO. The Koch family purchased a noncontrolling stake in the team last year.
