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For most of the last two years, Eli Manning hasn’t been worried about his contract. But now the Giants’ two-time Super Bowl MVP is calling for the Giants to pick up the negotiating pace.
“I’m not a big fan of contract negotiations during the season,” Manning said on WFAN on Tuesday morning. “I’m hoping if this thing is gonna get done, it’s gonna get done quickly.”
For the first time since talks opened on a Manning extension, the quarterback was assertive and aggressive, pushing for his deal to get done. The Giants’ quarterback since 2004, Manning is set to make $17 million this season, the final year of his deal. Reports have suggested Manning wants to be the league’s highest-paid player, although he insisted such talk was far from the truth.
Until this point, neither side had been rushing these extension talks, with both sides believing that a deal would eventually get done. Team owner John Mara said at the start of training camp that he thought an extension would be completed “at some point,” and Manning has long seemed unconcerned.
Still, in a way, the QB’s comments make sense: If a deal isn’t done soon and negotiations drag into the regular season, Manning would almost certainly face weekly questions over the status of his contract and his future with the only NFL franchise he has known. He has never enjoyed such media circuses or wanted to be the center of attention, but as the season wears on and Manning’s current deal nears its expiration date, the rumblings about his future will grow louder.
Quarterback Eli Manning and the New York Giants have had productive discussions in recent days about a contract extension, and there is optimism on both sides that a new deal can be reached before Sunday's season opener, a source said Tuesday.
