ALBANY (e3media) - Eli Manning is about to become the highest-paid player in the NFL. The Giants quarterback and former Super Bowl MVP has agreed to a new seven-year, $106.9 million contract that he is expected to sign later Wednesday, according to a source familiar with the negotiations. Though it's not the largest deal in NFL history, the average of $15.27 million per year is a new NFL high.
That deal has been in the works since last year, as the Daily News first reported in January. Though it didn't quite hit the $120 million mark that NFL sources expected, it still makes Manning the eighth member of the $100 million Quarterback Club.
The deal is actually a six-year, $97.5 million extension which will keep him with the Giants through the 2015 season. It tops the $100 million barrier when you add in the $9.4 million he was due this season, which will apparently be included in the new deal.
According to one report, the deal will include $35 million in guaranteed money.
Tom Condon, Manning's agent, did not return an e-mail seeking comment. A Giants spokesman had no comment on the impending deal either.
Manning's new deal also makes him the highest-paid member of his family, trumping the $14 million-per-year average Peyton Manning has with his seven-year, $98 million deal with the Indianapolis Colts. That was the highest average for an NFL quarterback, and it was the highest in the NFL until the Oakland Raiders signed cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha to a deal this spring worth an average of $15 million per season.
Manning's new deal would eclipse that, too.
The Giants have known they were going to have to open the vault for Manning since Feb. 3, 2008, when he led them on that miraculous run to Super Bowl XLII. Add in four playoff appearances in five seasons - and all four seasons as a full-time starter - and the consensus in the organization was that he was easily worth the price.
The negotiations, however, got off to a rocky start.
According to one source, Manning's a initial asking price was around $20 million per year, which the Giants obviously balked at. The source said Condon made it clear he wanted his client to be the NFL's highest-paid player, even though Manning later told the Daily News "I don't have an ego about that."
There was no rush to get a deal done either. Manning's original six-year contract was worth $45-54 million and wasn't scheduled to run out until after the 2009 season, when he was due to earn a salary of $9.4 million. The Giants also had the option of placing the "franchise player" tag on him, if necessary, so there was no risk of him ever hitting free agency.
One way or another, the Giants were committed to making Manning their franchise quarterback for the rest of his career, and nothing the 28-year-old Manning has done since Super Bowl XLII has changed that. Despite some struggles at the end of last year, Manning still made the Pro Bowl for the first time after completing 60.3 percent of his passes (289 for 479) for 3,238 yards with 21 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions.
That's good enough for the Giants to put him in the elite company of $100 million quarterbacks. The list includes:
Brett Favre (10 years, $101 million from Green Bay in 2001), Drew Bledsoe (10 years, $103 million from New England in 2001), Donovan McNabb (12 years, $115 million from Philadelphia in 2002), Daunte Culpepper (10 years, $102 million from Minnesota in 2003), Michael Vick (10 years, $130 million from Atlanta in 2004), Carson Palmer (nine-years, $118.75 million from Cincinnati in 2005), and Ben Roethlisberger (eight years, $102 million from Pittsburgh in 2008).
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