Ownership’s hope is that it will be ‘Once a Giant, Always a Giant’ for Sterling Shepard even after he’s done playing.

Sources told the Daily News this week that co-owner John Mara in particular envisions a “long-term” role for Shepard, 30, in the organization.

Mara is said to value Shepard’s “energy” and “presence.” To paraphrase one source, Mara and the Giants feel like the building wouldn’t be the same without him.

Shepard already is active in the community with the Giants. He unofficially helped coach wide receivers at practices after tearing his ACL in Week 3 of last season, and he hyped the team and crowd on game days from the pre-game locker room to the MetLife Stadium sideline.

Shepard is already running on turf as he returns for an eighth NFL season with the team that drafted him in the 2016 second round (40th overall) out of Oklahoma.

The club re-signed Shepard to a one-year, $1.3 million contract with no guarantees, $152,500 worth of per-game roster bonuses. He has a $1.165 million base salary and a $600,000 split salary as a just-in-case hedge.

The Giants don’t just want Shepard here for 2023, though. The team, starting with Mara, wants him sticking around a lot longer than that.

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