While the offseason progresses with his team making moves to strengthen their roster, New York Giants co-owner Steve Tisch is quietly planning a big ownership move. After facing scrutiny over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein, Tisch and his siblings proposed transferring their shares in the Giants franchise to the next generation in their family. As part of the process, while the NFL conducted a standard valuation, the latest reports revealed that the ownership move will reach an 11-figure mark.

“The #NYGiants are valued at $10.8B in the proposed transactions that would have Steve, Jonathan, and Laurie Tisch sell their remaining shares in the #NFL team to separate trusts for the benefit of their respective children,” CNBC’s Mike Ozanian reported via X on March 19.

The transfer proposed by the Tisch family covers 23.1% of the franchise, with that portion alone now valued at roughly $2.5 billion. NFL owners still need to approve the move, but the groundwork has clearly been in motion within the Tisch family for a while. Since 2023, Steve Tisch and his siblings have begun shifting portions of their ownership to their children’s trusts.

But while NFL franchise valuations have been skyrocketing, the Giants are no exception. The Tisch family’s ties to the team date back to 1991, when Steve’s father, Preston Tisch, purchased a 50% stake in the franchise from the Mara family. Last year in October, the Koch family bought a 10% share of the Giants at a $10.3 billion valuation, which left both the Maras and the Tisches with 45% stakes each in the franchise. 

Now, it isn’t surprising to see the team’s valuation rising in just a few months, as Miami Dolphins’ owner Stephen M. Ross recently sold a 1% stake in his franchise to tech billionaire Lin Bin at a staggering $12.5 billion valuation. That deal cost $125 million for Bin and didn’t just include the team – it also covered assets like Hard Rock Stadium and major sporting events.

Ross also completed two deals at an $8.1 billion valuation, selling a combined 13% stake in the Dolphins. In the long run, the 85-year-old Dolphins owner intends to pass the franchise down to his family.

Meanwhile, even if the transfer goes through, Steve Tisch isn’t expected to disappear from the organization. Reports suggest that Tisch would remain chairman of the Giants’ board. Still, it is not clear whether Tisch stepping away from NFL ownership now is part of a plan to shield himself from further scrutiny in his involvement with Epstein.

Did the emergence of his link to Epstein lead Steve Tisch to make this $10.8B move?

The timing of the ownership shift overlaps with renewed attention on Steve Tisch’s past connection to Jeffrey Epstein. A few weeks ago, emails linking the two surfaced, with Tisch reportedly mentioned nearly 440 times in them. The oldest of those emails dates back to 2013, which was a year after Epstein had been legally registered as a Level 3 offender.

The content in the emails reportedly included suggestive language with Steve Tisch and Epstein discussing meetings with women. Notably, no criminal wrongdoing has been alleged against Tisch despite the emails. Still, in his defense, Tisch issued a firm statement distancing himself from Epstein.

“We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy, and investments,” Steve Tisch’s statement read. “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.”

The NFL is currently reviewing the situation involving Steve Tisch under its personal conduct policy, which allows the league to act even if no laws were broken. Now, if the ownership transfer is approved, Tisch would technically no longer be part of the ownership group. But would that end the NFL’s interest in the matter?

NFL ownership history suggests that such a situation isn’t unprecedented. In 1998, while Edward J. DeBartolo Jr., the owner of the San Francisco 49ers back then, was facing a bribery scandal, he transferred control of the franchise to his sister, Denise DeBartolo York. 

Meanwhile, as for the Giants, a team source has also revealed that Steve Tisch and his siblings had already planned to transfer their stake in the franchise within the family around this time, indicating the move wasn’t sudden. Moreover, the NFL has not yet signaled any action against Tisch over the alleged connection to Epstein, but the Tisch family appears to be preparing for any possible outcome.