NEW ORLEANS — Eli Manning is in his hometown this week, the site of Super Bowl LIX, engaged in various activities in and around the city.

Soon enough, word comes down if his schedule of events includes an honor reserved for only the truly elite.

Manning is a finalist for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Class of 2025 will be revealed Thursday night during the NFL Honors event.

In the hearts and minds of Giants fans, Manning is already a legend, based largely on the way he brought his team down the field in the fourth quarter not once, but twice, in Super Bowl victories over the Patriots after the 2007 and 2011 seasons.

Manning was named the Most Valuable Player in both those games, and that rare achievement is almost always synonymous with Hall of Fame inclusion.

Finalists must receive 80 percent of the vote from the 49 voters on the selection committee.

Manning is no sure thing to garner enough support in his first year on the ballot.

The five first-time finalists are Manning, linebacker Luke Kuechly, outside linebacker Terrell Suggs, offensive lineman Marshal Yanda and kicker Adam Vinatieri.

The other finalists are cornerback Eric Allen, defensive end Jared Allen, offensive tackle Willie Anderson, guard Jahri Evans, тιԍнт end Antonio Gates, wide receiver Torry Holt, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., running back Fred Taylor, wide receiver Reggie Wayne and safety Darren Woodson.

If no player reaches 80 percent, the top three vote-getters will gain election.

There could be three, four or five modern-era players in the class.

“This is not a stressful situation for me, this is not something that is going to make or break my year or ruin the few days I’m in New Orleans with my family and friends for the Super Bowl,” Manning told The Post recently. “This is an honor to make the final 15 and an honor to be included and thought of amongst the group that are in the 15 and the group that are in the Hall of Fame. This is all positive.”

Manning’s streak of 210 consecutive games is a strong mark in his favor, and his 57,023 pᴀssing yards and 366 pᴀssing touchdowns remain in the top 10 all time.

But The Post heard from members of the committee that questioned his worthiness, based on some humdrum regular-season production in too many of his 16 seasons with the Giants.

He never led the NFL in touchdown pᴀsses but three times led the league in interceptions. His career record is 117-117, and his career pᴀsser rating of 84.1 is 60th on the all-time list.

He never received a single vote for the regular-season MVP award.

“Questions have arisen about his career record,” retired Newsday NFL columnist Bob Glauber, the Giants’ representative on the selection committee and presenter of Manning to the voters, told The Post. “There have been other quarterbacks who have been at, near or below .500 in the Hall of Fame. Joe Namath was not a .500 quarterback and had more interceptions than touchdowns. Sonny Jurgensen was under .500. Dan Fouts was two games over .500. For some reason, won-loss record has kind of crept into the debate about quarterbacks in recent years, but I don’t know that’s an accurate gauge of quarterbacks because it’s a total team game, and there are a lot of factors that go into how good a team is with a certain quarterback over a long period of time.’’

Manning said he is most proud of the two championships he brought to the Giants and the way they were achieved.

“Obviously, championships are the goal of any player, especially from a quarterback standpoint, just because you have so much control in your hands,” Manning said, “And the fact that we did it against the Patriots on two-minute drives to go win it, I think that was one of my strong suits as a player, stepping up in critical games and stepping up in critical moments of games, in the fourth quarter, in two-minute drives and being in those situations and the moment not being too big for me.”

Manning also said he is proud of his availability, having never missed a game because of an injury in his career.

The beginning of the end for Manning came after the Giants selected Daniel Jones with the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

Manning started and lost the first two games that season and the decision was made to send him to the bench and insert Jones into the lineup.

Manning returned to the field late that season with Jones injured, and Manning ended on a high note, beating the Dolphins, 36-20.

The fans at MetLife Stadium chanted his name and he embraced his family in the tunnel afterward.

Manning is hoping to join his older brother, Peyton, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021, in gaining a Gold jacket.

“He wears it all the time, it’s so awkward,” Eli cracked. “He wears it to every family dinner that we have. It’s annoying.”