Recent reports have suggested that John Mara and the New York Giants organization want to lock up Eli Manning. While we all knew that was going to happen, there’s one catch. Manning wants to be the NFL’s highest paid player. That means he would be getting a bigger contract than Aaron Rodgers. Is this possible for the two-time Super Bowl MVP?
Manning’s decorated past suggests that he may get a very lucrative contract, but definitely not the highest paid in the NFL. Manning had a bounce back year and put up the greatest completion percentage of his career last season. Things are only looking up for Manning going into the 2015 season so he may be trying to get the most out of it.
Philip Rivers recently got a massive contract extension even though reports claimed that the San Diego Chargers did not want to meet Rivers’ demands. He ended up making $84 million over four years. Rivers’ contract basically sets the bar for Manning’s contract in the Giants’ eyes.
Manning deserves to get more than Rivers did because he actually delivered championships to New York. One of those came against one of the greatest teams of all time, the 2007 New England Patriots. Rivers is a fantastic quarterback in his own right, but a championship speaks for itself.
Manning may not become the highest paid quarterback in the NFL, but he will be one of the highest paid. Setting the bar that high was a smart move for Manning to make because the Giants can’t low-ball him.
The Giants are a very smart and conservative organization. They won’t throw money at Manning without negotiating. Manning will get a huge payday, but nowhere near as much as he wants. Russell Wilson bargained for the same title and didn’t get it. However, the Giants may feel differently about that. Here are some stats the Giants may take into consideration.
- Manning is a first overall draft pick
- Two-time Super Bowl MVP
- He is the Giants’ all time passing yards and touchdown leader
- He is the only quarterback to beat Tom Brady in the Super Bowl
- He is one of three active quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl wins
- He is third on the all time consecutive starts streak with 167 starts (still active)
I’m sure Manning’s agent is throwing a couple of these credentials into the contract conversation. Manning completely has the upper hand in the negotiations. We all know the Manning would rather retire than leave the Giants’ organization, which was once said by his father Archie Manning. It should be very interesting to see how the Giants’ and Manning’s agent are going to figure this one out. By the way it looks, Manning has the upper hand to demand whatever contract that he wants.
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