Annie Apple, Mother of Giants' Top Pick Eli Apple, Will Be a Contributor on Sunday NFL Countdown

Annie Apple has seen the biggest leap in draft stock from mid-April to now, surpassing any of the players who were known commodities heading into the draft. The mother of New York Giants’ first round pick Eli Apple made a name for herself by calling out complaints about her son’s cooking, talking about thirsty girls sliding into DMs, and congratulating Olivia Manning on her Hall of Fame uterus. She also made the rounds on ESPN platforms after her initial forays into going viral.

Now, according to an ESPN release, she will be a contributor on NFL Sunday Countdown next season.

Giants coach Ben McAdoo warned last month against social media use; now, one of his players will have a parent prominently displayed on Sundays who could say things about other players in the league. “Yeah, anyone who wraps their arms around our players, [social media discretion] is important, too,” McAdoo said. Eli Apple said he didn’t mind the attention his mother was getting, and it will only increase. “I have no problem with that at all. If she wants the whole spotlight, she can have it. It doesn’t make a difference to me.”

It is definitely a unique approach, and it remains to be seen how she will be utilized and whether it works. I don’t begrudge anyone getting theirs, and that includes Annie Apple. Part of me is wistful, though, that we can’t just have authentic moments without things always becoming overplayed or over commercialized. Everyone is trying to go viral. For the moment, that includes  the mother of Eli Apple, who will be appearing on a television program coming to your set this fall.