DownSwinging.com

According to the Associated Press, Eli Manning has agreed to a six-year, $97 million dollar contract extension. Under this new deal, Eli will be guaranteed $35 million and keep him with the Giants through 2015.  Adding on to the $9.4 million he will receive in the final year of his rookie contract, Eli will be set to earn a grand total of $106.9 million over the next seven years. For comparison, brother Peyton’s annual salary is $14 million and Tom Brady’s is $10 million. Since Eli is set to become one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the NFL, there is already some debate and about the Giants’ decision to give elite money to someone who most would agree is probably second-tier quarterback at best. Right now, Chargers general manager A.J. Smith must be dreading the day when he will sit down with Philip Rivers, who is also entering the final year of his original rookie deal, and negotiate a new contract that might end up being even larger than Eli’s.

Upon evaluating Eli’s body of work since he made his much anticipated debut into the NFL as the number one overall pick in 2004, I have no doubt that Giants general manager Jerry Reese has spent his money wisely by locking up Eli with this massive long term deal. In a time when teams have had trouble just finding someone to line up under center week in and week out, Eli has done everything that any team could possibly ask for out of its franchise quarterback, especially one who has been under as much scrutiny as Eli has for his entire career.