Does Eli Manning Deserve a $97 Million Contract Extension?
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A while ago, I posted this question on the sports forum here on Hubpages to see what others thought of Eli Manning's exorbitant contract extension and whether or not he truly deserves the king's ransom of 6 years, $97.5 million in which $35 million is guaranteed. If and when Eli does sign this contract, he will be the highest paid NFL player as he will command a total salary of $15.3 million per year. In other words, under his new contract, he will be making a total of $106.9 million over 7 years. As of August 8, 2009 the deal was not yet complete. However, both parties have agreed on the matter at least verbally. Once the deal is finalized, he will be signed through the 2015 season and will cement his role as the Giants premier quarterback.
"He is our franchise quarterback," the New York Giants General Manager said during a press conference on August 5, 2009. "He has done everything we asked him to do. He has come in, taken a lot of flack from you guys (the media) and he just keeps going. He does what we ask of him on the field and he does what we ask him off the field. He is a good football player."
There are some individuals that will no doubt grumble over Eli's new contract extension and will, argue that he doesn't deserve such a lucrative contract and that there are more deserving or better players in the league today that should be making more. Here is my rebuttal, as these are the facts concerning the matter in question:
- Since taking over the starting quarterback duties in 2004, Eli Manning has yet to miss a game or start
- His streak of 71 consecutive NFL starts in second only to his brother Peyton Manning who has 176 (Brett Favre, baring retirement holds the NFL record with 269)
- During that streak, he became the only Giants quarterback in franchise history to pass for over 3,000 yards and throw for 20 touchdowns in four consecutive seasons
- In his first four seasons as the New York Giants starting QB, he has taken his team to four consecutive playoff games
- The New York Giants have not missed the playoffs since Eli Manning has been their starting quarterback for an entire NFL season
- In 2007, he helped propel the Giants to an amazing 11-straight road victories, an NFL record
- In 2008, he cut his interception total in half, throwing only 10 interceptions compared to 20 in 2007
- His stats in 2008 are as follows: QB rating-86.4, Comp. Percentage 60.3 (+ 4.2% over previous), Yards-3238, TDs-21, INT-10
- His regular season record is 41-29
- His post-season (playoff record) is 4-3; all four of his wins were on the road
- In 2008 he made his first trip to the Pro Bowl in 2008
- In 2007, he took the New York Giants to their first Superbowl in seven years and beat the then undefeated New England Patriots, 17-14 in an thrilling 2-minute drive
- For his performance in Super Bowl XLII, he was awarded Super Bowl MVP
Commentary
In my opinion, Eli Manning gives the Giants a bonafide contender under center. With him as their quarterback they have the opportunity and proven ability to get back to the Super Bowl and win another Lombardi Trophy. I have absolutely no doubt that the Giants can repeat as World Champions. Everything is in place for them to do so. If you look at Eli's numbers, he is improving and will only continue to improve with experience.
"Eli is a franchise quarterback and he should be treated as such," says general manager Jerry Reese. "He has had his ups and his downs, sometimes each in the extreme, but he is a fully-grown quarterback and he continues to ascend. He is going to be sensational."
During the first Giants Draft Day Party in 2004 at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, I was in attendance as Eli Manning walked up to the podium to speak to the throng of excited Giants fans. The current Giants General Manager Ernie Acorsi had just made the blockbuster deal in which the Giants traded away their first pick (fourth overall) quarterback Philip Rivers to the San Diego Chargers for Eli Manning (with the addition of four other compensatory picks in both the 2004 and 2005 NFL Drafts). There was much speculation then about how the Giants gave up the farm to get Eli and whether or not he was worth the huge price tag they paid to acquire him. In closing, Eli voiced to the die-hard fans in attendance exactly what his plan was in becoming a member of the New York Giants: "I going to try to win you guys a Super Bowl..." Boy did he ever.
In conclusion, I'd like to showcase just one more video just in case there's any more doubt...
Locked and Loaded! (Hub 17/30)
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Comments
Thanks for the insight, Tom. What makes the NFL so great is the salary cap. I hope your wrong about that. Regards.
i'm sure he brings a truckload of money i.e. millions to his team's franchise just on his good name alone, let alone money generated in ticket sales, apparel and other things. i don't know a lot about football but i do like watching the Manning boys - poetry in motion. excellent hub, i might add!
What some people don't realize is the jump in salaries Eli is going to impact: Next year, Peyton will be in the last year of his contract and Tom Brady will be on his last in 2011, but most likely, they''ll want to restructure their contract as well and will have a good argument in their favor if Eli is making $15 million plus!
Thank you cosette for your support!
NOOOO Eli is not an Elite quarterback!!! I was rooting for him when he was down and out, now he is THE MAN! Still he hasn't shown he deserves a record breaking contract.
Funny thing in that picture of all three manning is peyton looks like he is Eli's father.
Time will tell, I guess. Many rate him as perhaps the 6th or 7th best quarterback in the league, but you cannot argue his importance to the Giants organization. After all, they're the ones that are paying him, not the NFL.
Like I stated before, this gives other players an argument (not just quarterbacks) to restructure new contracts. They should all be thanking him for such a sweet deal.
Yeah, Peyton's not getting any younger. He's entering his 12th year as an NFL QB...Damn, I remember when he was a rookie.
Good hub.
Do I believe Eli Manning is worth that much money due to his football skills and production soley on numbers alone? No. Do I believe Eli Manning is worth that much due to him leading his team to the Super Bowl and him playing in such a large market? Probably - moreso for the market he plays in.
He definitely has catapulted due to his winning in '07 and is reaping the benefits. He has developed into a 'stable' Quarterback. I still don't think he possess that greatness that other qb's in the league have in terms of can put the team on his shoulders and win it. He had a great defense and defensive ends on that team and a solid running attack to win the super bowl.
I still don't know if you can put him in that class of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or even Big Ben Rothliesburger - all of which I can see being justified making that much money.
But trust me I have no qualms about him receiving the money. NFL players get screwed for the most part. They play the most dangerous sport (next to UFC) and players can get cut w/o getting paid (no guaranteed contracts) unless it's upfront and in their signing bonus for the most part.
So good for him, but unfortnate for the guy's who don't get paid as well and are one injury away from losing it all with nothing to show for it.
Eli does have a few more things to accomplish before he gets placed in that elite class of QBs, I guess...I think it's a wash--Philip Rivers just got a new contract and probably deserved it (mind you it's less than Eli's, but Rivers does not have a Super Bowl win).
Many experts say that Eli Manning is not as good as say Brady, McNabb, Peyton, Brees, Rivers, maybe even Rothlisberger...But with the exception of his own brother, all of those guys have been hurt, injury prone or both. My argument is that Eli is important to the Giants organization. No one should doubt that. I don't see David Carr or Andre Woodson taking the Giants to the promise land.
I believe that Eli is only going to get better in time and that his huge contract only increases the salaries of all other marquee QBs in the league like Peyton and Brady in the next 2 years when it comes time to restructure their contract.
I like the point you made about players getting squat if injured and or cut.
Thanks, buddy. Let's have a kick-ass season!
I think Eli deserves his cash. Especially after reading your bullets on his achievements. People scoff at the idea of giving him the elite dollars for he doesnt dazzle us with record breaking Td tosses or blasing passing spectacles. But he is the face of franchise and that franchise wouldn't sell 1/4 as many tickets without him at the helm. Just seeing him back there now reminds the NY fans that the man that brought us a championship is always going to be back there, it gives them hope and will continue to sell our games for the next 6 years. Plus Carson Palmer makes almost as much per year, and he's a stool.
By the end of the season, Eli's contract is going to be a thing of the past. Other players in the NFL should thank him for becoming one of the highest players in the NFL (for now) because it will only drive up the salaries of the rest of the QBs in the league. Thank you for commenting! I really appreciate your readership and hope to see you again.
Winners deserve to get paid, it's ridiculous seeing guys like Alex Smith (49ers) and Jamarcus Russell (Raiders) getting their 50-60 million dollar deals. Eli's numbers may pale in comparisson to Brady, Petyon, Brees, and even Cutler, but he's got the Ring and could play and win not like other highly paid #1 picks.
Yes, I couldn't agree with you more, Steve. Having Eli Manning on the Giants gives them a shot at least one more Super Bowl title. His importance to his organization is incomparable. In a year or two, when Peyton and Brady restructure there contracts, it's going to dwarf Eli's contract. Thank you so much for visiting.
I admit he deserves to get paid more then Russel and Smith, but what about getting paid more then McNabb or Rodgers not top 3 or 4 QBs but def better then Eli?
Hey, ericfeld. To answer your question, McNabb loss his only crack at the Superbowl and is injury prone: When was the last time he played a full season without any injury? Eli has yet to miss a start. Aaron Rodgers is definitely a good quarterback but is unproven thus far. Neither of those guys made the pro bowl last year :)
Of course he does he is one of the great ones. The Mannings are all awesome.
Hey, carline53. Thank you for your support. So far, those who have commented have been about 60/40 in favor of him NOT deserving his huge contract. I'm a Giants fan through and through and to bring home the Lombardi Trophy certainly makes me bias :D Thank you for commenting.
dohn, dont you just love coming back to this one, to see how right on the money you were when you wrote this. The Drive hmm I can never get enough of seeing that one. Heres to seeing Eli lift that Lombardi trophy over his head one mo time!
You bet I do! What a lot of people just don't get is that it doesn't matter what the other quarterbacks and other playeers in the NFL are making, it's his importance to the Giants organization that amounts to a hill of beans! Seriously, where the hell would we be without him?
Did I ever tell you that I met him on the day he was drafted in 2004? I was at the first-ever Draft Day Party at Giants Stadium in 2004! He actually promised all of us back then that he was going to win us a Super Bowl! I really hope we win 2 more before he retires!
Thanks again! Go Big Blue Wrecking Crew!
Colts Colts Colts.. oh wait.. wrong Manning ;) If Eli didn't deserve $97 million, he wouldn't be getting it-- I'm with you all the way. Football aside, I thought you did an excellent job with this hub... I shouldn't be surprised because it's you, but it was still refreshing. Cross your fingers for a "Manning bowl" in February!
Hey, thanks zadrobi. Even with the reality check today with losing big to the Saints, I still believe that Eli and the Giants do have a shot. Skeptics have to remember that there is still two-thirds of the regular season to play. I still am adamant about the fact that Eli gives the best chance for the Giants to win. Thanks for visiting and I'm glad you enjoyed this hub. Thanks for posting that thread too by the way!
Agree with zadrobi. Well written hub,dohn. Yes, today's loss to the Saints (obviously no longer the Aint's) was quite a wake-up call.
I love Eli Manning. I love the Giants.
I think it is imprudent to offer any player that kind of long-term contract with that kind of money. It's an obscene amount. I am one who believes our sports figures (and actors) are paid way out of whack with their value.
But that's just me. MM
Hey, Mighty Mom. I did my best to convince others that Eli does deserve every penny the New York Giants gave him, but of course everyone has a right to their own opinion :D It's great to hear that you're a fan (how did I not know that until now???) NFL franchises do make a lot of money and Eli puts a lot of butts in seats :D It's my belief that doctors and teachers should earn the most in this world, by the way, and writers after that!!! Thanks, MM for visiting me!
I like ELI, very promising (handsome too lol), he deserved every penny he earn.
Thanks, prettydarkhorse. I'm happy that you think so. I keep on telling everyone that he gives the New York Giants the best chance to win and that alone makes his an asset.
What does everybody think now? The Giants have the guy that took them to the big show as QB, but they are not showing they understand why they got there. They haven't since the Eagles playoff game last year! Without a tall, big time receiver like Plaxico, Eli and the Giants are impotent. People got excited by Smith and Manningham earlier, but they are second tier receivers. The Giants should have focused their offseason on replacing Plaxico rather than giving generously to Eli.
Maybe Eli's contract is not mutually exclusive and perhaps 97.5MM is reasonable relative to unproven guys getting 50MM, but until the Giants replace Plaxico and deepen their secondary they will be a mediocre team for the rest of Eli's career and that would be a waste of the 97.5MM that my higher priced tickets are now paying for. Take a page out of the Yankees playbook and put those last key couple pieces into place for next season.
Although I don't disagree with you, I will say that there are more problems on the Giants than many are aware of and the overall problem of the team can't be fully explained by simply pointing out the absence of a tall and athletic wide receiver--that's only the tip of the iceberg.
1) Bill Sheridan: If you recall before the regular season, there was some speculation about how Osi Umenyiora refused to acknowledge Bill Sheridan as his defensive coordinator and so refused to speak to him. A day went by and the news of the outcome simply reported that everything was fine in Giants Land. No harm, no foul, right? There is definitely something wrong here...
2) Giants Defense/Bill Sheridan: I watched every single NY Giants game and the defense seem like robots...They are not playing with any desire, emotion, or purpose. They blitz at the wrong times are badly out of position allowing more big plays in just a handful of games which is the equivalent of two or three seasons! During the Saints game, Sheridan employed a zone scheme when all NFL scouts knew for a fact that it doesn't work against a Sean Peyton offense! Giants execs/scouts/coaches of all people should have known this! They used to know his playbook back to front as he was their offensive coordinator during the Jim Fassel era. How were they NOT prepared?
3)Heart: Where the hell is their heart in all of this? Is this really the same team as last year and the year before? I can go on an on about how they lack veteran leadership, or that Sheridan must go and to see if possible, we can bring back Spagnuolo (in your dreams) or that we should have kept Sam Madison as a consultant/secondary guru for all of the young guys, or that Kenny Phillips is much more important to the Giants that many at first believed...But I won't and why? Because there excuses and these guys are NOT playing with any heart (okay, maybe a few) but not all of them. Where the hell is the morale??? Where's the Pride? These guys need to take a page out of the 2007 season and duplicate that camaraderie. These guys need to go back to their roots and play Giant Football.
Peace.
Tom T says:
3 months ago
Sorry no player is worth $97M. Sadly I believe once the NFL goes uncapped, football will become like baseball with the haves and have not's. $97M will look like a bargain.