The ownership structure of the New York Giants could soon undergo a notable shift after co-owners Steve Tisch, Laurie Tisch and Jonathan Tisch formally requested to transfer their stakes in the franchise to trusts controlled by their children.
The request, which must be approved by the league’s finance committee, would remove the three members of the Tisch family as direct owners of the franchise if it is granted. The memo states that Steve, Laurie and Jonathan Tisch would “no longer own any interest” in the team after the transfer is completed, though the move is described by individuals familiar with the process as part of routine long-term succession planning.
The Tisch family has shared ownership of the Giants for more than three decades alongside the John Mara–led Mara family, which has owned the franchise since its founding in 1925. Jonathan Tisch currently serves as the team’s treasurer and sits on the club’s board of directors, while Laurie Tisch is also a member of the board. Steve Tisch, a longtime Hollywood film producer, holds the role of executive vice president and chairman of the Giants’ board.
The ownership review comes after Steve Tisch’s name appeared earlier this year in documents released by the U.S. Justice Department related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The documents included numerous emails between Epstein and Tisch dating largely to around 2013. In those messages, Epstein repeatedly attempted to connect Tisch with several women and at one point was invited to attend a Giants game in the owner’s box.
Tisch has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Nevertheless, the emergence of the documents prompted speculation within league circles about whether the NFL might address Tisch’s role in the organization. Several team executives and at least one owner told ESPN they expected the situation to be discussed or clarified ahead of the NFL’s upcoming league meetings in Arizona.
Epstein, a financier who faced years of allegations involving the sexual abuse of underage girls, was arrested in 2019 on federal sex-trafficking charges. While awaiting trial in a New York jail, he was found dead in his cell on Aug. 10, 2019. The medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. More than a decade earlier, in 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution and served 13 months of an 18-month sentence, becoming a registered sex offender.
Despite the renewed scrutiny tied to the Justice Department document release, the request to transfer ownership stakes appears to be framed internally as a financial and estate-planning measure rather than a disciplinary action. If approved, the stakes would move to trusts benefiting the Tisch family’s next generation while maintaining the broader ownership partnership with the Mara family.
The Giants’ ownership group has expanded slightly in recent years. In 2025, the Charles Koch–led Koch family acquired a small non-controlling stake in the franchise, adding another prominent name to one of the NFL’s oldest ownership structures.
Whether Steve Tisch will continue to hold an operational or advisory role with the organization after the transfer remains unclear. The matter is expected to be reviewed by the NFL’s finance committee before potentially being brought to the league’s ownership group for final approval.
For now, the move signals a potential generational shift within one of the NFL’s most historic franchises, even as questions linger about how the league and the Giants will address the broader attention surrounding Steve Tisch’s past correspondence with Epstein.
