Nathan Jahnke of ESPN Insider ranked the top 10 most overpaid NFL veterans and New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning placed first.
Jahnke “compared each player’s 2016-17 cap hit (according to OverTheCap.com) to the Jahnke Value Model, which determines what a player is worth based on performance.” Nathan notes that “Of the players on last season’s list, two are retired, two were cut and two are back with their teams on pay cuts.” Somehow, I don’t see Eli Manning falling into any of those categories.
Eli had one season left (2015) on his previous contract (signed in 2010) when he re-upped with Big Blue for four more seasons (2016 – 2019) at $84 million and reduced his salary cap hit in 2015. Of the $84 million, $65 million is guaranteed, which is currently tied for the highest among all quarterbacks with Philip Rivers. Manning’s average salary is $21,000,000 per season.
Looking at Eli’s market value, Manning’s often compared to players of his age signed to similar contracts, QBs like Philip Rivers, Tony Romo, Drew Brees, and Ben Roesthlisberger. Prior to signing their most recent or most similar contracts, all four of those quarterbacks had pass ratings by an average of six points.
According to Spotrac, Eli had a “true value rating” of 19.74 last season. Of the 40 quarterbacks that took at least 25% of their team’s snaps at the position in 2015, Eli had the 9th lowest true value rating, one slot better than Aaron Rodgers and one worse than Ryan Tannehill. Philip Rivers was 30th. Ben Roethlisberger was 27th. Drew Brees was 25th. Romo didn’t qualify because he was hurt for most of the season.
Tyrod Taylor – the top ‘value’ QB on that list – is on his rookie contract, which pays him an average salary of a little more than $1 million per year. Second most value QB Kirk Cousins was making around $650,000 per year before he received the franchise tag in early March and now has the second highest base salary for 2016, so good luck living up to that.
With the First Pick
Here’s the rundown of the rest of the top 10 highest ‘value’ quarterbacks…
- #3. Derek Carr – rookie contract averages $1.3 million per season
- #4. Blake Bortles – rookie contract averages $5 million per season
- #5. Tom Brady – is an anomaly and the greatest of all-time (sorry, Peyton)
- #6. Ryan Fitzpatrick – made $3.2 million in 2015, but is now in a massive tug-of-war to get something between Brock Osweiler money ($18 mil per year) and Chase Daniel money ($7 mil per year)
- #7. Marcus Mariota – rookie contract averages $6 million per season
- #8. Blaine Gabbert – averages $2 million per season
- #9. Cam Newton – was making $5 million per season on rookie contract, signed a ginormous contract ($20 mil per year)
- #10. Josh McCown – makes around $5 mil per year
Here’s where the quarterbacks that made the playoffs (other than Brady and Newton) ranked in terms of ‘value’:
- #17. Andy Dalton
- #18. Carson Palmer
- #19. Teddy Bridgwater
- #20. Russell Wilson
- #23. Alex Smith
- #40. Peyton Manning
In 2015, Manning was sixth in passing yards, tied for second in passing touchdowns, but 13th in passer rating. That last placement is crazy considering Eli put up a 93.6, which is the highest of his 12-year career.
Four quarterbacks have higher average salaries in 2016 than Eli…
- Joe Flacco $22,133,333
- Aaron Rodgers $22,000,000
- Russell Wilson $21,900,000
- Ben Roethlisberger $21,850,000
Next: Most Hated New York Giants Of All-Time
Eli’s $84 million contract value is 11th highest in the league. Who’s at #1? JAY CUTLER! #2? COLIN KAEPERNICK! Yes, Eli has the highest guaranteed money because the guy’s a guarantee. He hasn’t missed a game in a dozen years. Sure, his play isn’t as consistently great as Tom Brady’s. He’s not as dynamic as Cam Newton. But, if you were to ask any Giants fan, they’d say Eli is worth every penny.
Via ESPN