Eli Manning Memorabilia on the Rise!

He’s a retail Giant.

While Big Blue quarterback Eli Manning is sure to top the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game today for a return trip to the Super Bowl, he already passes his peers on the sales rack, experts told The Post.

“Eli has emerged as the best collectible right now,” declared Brandon Steiner, CEO of Steiner Sports, a leading memorabilia dealer.

Signed Manning jerseys sell for a lofty $800, the most of any current or past Giants player, and game-worn Manning jerseys go for a whopping $4,500, the most of any player the company hawks.
On eBay, a game-worn helmet autographed by Eli can be had for $7,000 — $99 more than a game-used helmet by Giants Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor.

Manning merchandise has seen a 10 percent jump across the board in the last few years, Steiner noted.

“What makes Eli special is his insatiable appetite to be the best,” Steiner said.

One of the most popular Manning items right now is a photo of the QB evading tacklers to make a 32-yard throw in Super Bowl XLII to receiver David Tyree that became known as “the helmet catch”

“His play this year has brought that item back to life,” said Howie Schwartz, CEO of Grandstand Sports & Memorabilia, who sells a Manning-signed print of the “great escape” for $399.

Nationwide, factory-fresh Manning jerseys were the eighth-most popular sold in 2011, according to NFL spokeswoman Joanna Hunter.

Before the start of the season, the only Manning on the top-selling list was Eli’s brother, Colts QB Peyton, who ranked No. 9 as of Aug. 30, but tumbled to 17th while out for the year with injury.

In brick-and-mortar stores like Modell’s Sporting Goods, Manning is consistently the top seller, according to spokesman Rich Lampmann.

There’s also been a recent surge in youth and women’s jersey’s being sold.

“They’ve mostly been Eli’s,” said Dick’s Sporting Goods spokesman Jerry Copsinis.

But since mid-December, Manning has seen stiff competition from teammate Victor Cruz, who’s been selling about 10 percent more jerseys at Modell’s than Eli. “Manning is the mainstay, but this was Cruz’s coming-out year, and being a local guy from Paterson, NJ, also helps him out,” Lampmann noted.

For a memorabilia investment, experts said the smart money is still on Eli.

“Victor is a sudden sensation, but you are better off collecting a player whose longevity will increase their chances of making the Hall of Fame,” Schwartz said.

Manning has a ways to go before he becomes king of New York — that honor belongs to Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, whose merchandise outsells all the rest.

“Jeter is just in a league of his own,” Schwartz said.