NFL Insider - Eli Manning Agrees On $97 Million Extension

Eli Manning, the Super Bowl champion quarterback from 2008, has singed on to a six-year, $97 million contract extension with the New York Giants. Frankly, this couldn’t come at a better time for Eli considering that he has nobody to throw to this year and is due for a mega collapse in stats and numbers. Establishing financial security before you enter a disastrous NFL season is what the smart players do.

The average salary for the Giants’ franchise quarterback will be around $15.3 million a year, which is more than his brother, Peyton Manning, who earns an average of $14.7 a year under his current deal. But Peyton Manning is fundamentally one of the best quarterbacks the league has ever seen, and his understanding of the game is far reaching. Defensive coordinators site that they not only have to beat the coaching staff of the Colts, they also have to deal with Manning, whose vision and knack for deception are second to none.

While Eli Manning won a Super Bowl the year after his brother did, he has proven neither consistency nor poise in his tenure as the Giants leading man. In fact, if you discount his rookie season (where he played in just nine game), his 2007 year was his worst overall performance at the position. He throw for just 23 touchdowns, while amassing 20 picks, a moderate 3,336 yards and his lowest rating in his entire career – 73.9. Last year, he became a much more efficient machine, but not a guy who could carry his team in to the playoffs, let alone survive the regular season. The Giants lost to their storied rival, the Philadelphia Eagles, in the Divisional Playoffs in 2008.

Still, finding a marquee quarterback is tough. Not too many teams stumble upon guys like Joe Flacco or Matt Ryan. Hell, even Philip Rivers, Manning’s counterpart in the Draft Day treachery of Archie Manning, is becoming an important staple in San Diego, and he hasn’t gotten his team over the playoff hump despite being “the best team in the AFC”. You pay through the nose to retain a quarterback if you believe he is what your club needs.

Now that they’ve secured $35 million guaranteed to Manning, and upwards of $62 million more where that came from, maybe they can find him a number-one receiver to throw to…I’m just suggesting it might be a good idea…