It seems like Eli Manning is always following in big brother Peyton’s footsteps. He chose to play quarterback, he chose to play in the SEC (following Peyton’s offensive coordinator at Tennessee to Ole Miss), and he was drafted into the NFL with the first overall pick in his class.
In 2008, just one year after Peyton led his Colts to a Super Bowl victory, nabbing the MVP trophy for his efforts, Eli led the Giants to Super Bowl glory–and nabbed an MVP trophy for his trophy case as well, making them the first (and so far only) brothers to play quarterback in the Super Bowl and win Super Bowl MVP awards.
Along the way, like brother Peyton, Eli has managed to whore himself for numerous products, even working with Peyton on spots for Oreo and ESPN–although at $5 million in endorsements, he still has a way to go to catch Peyton’s $13 million.
And now, as the 2009 season approaches, Eli looks to be following in Peyton’s footsteps again, as his rookie contract is set to close out–by requesting a potentially team crippling contract from the team that has turned him into a star.
In March of 2004, Peyton signed a then record seven-year, $99.2 million contract, which included a $34.5 million signing bonus. The deal was supposedly done to be somewhat cap friendly, accounting for roughly 10% of the salary cap each season–but in the end, Manning had to restructure the deal in 2007 to free up cap space for the team–and coming into 2009, he was still carrying a cap number of $21.2 million.
Along the way, despite winning the one Super Bowl, the Colts struggled at times to put together a solid defense, were unable to keep their Super Bowl winning offensive line intact, and were forced (before the Super Bowl win) to let star RB Edgerrin James leave via free agency.
Now, brother Eli is looking to cash in, with his rookie contract expiring–supposedly asking for a salary in the $20 million/year range, and his agents pushing for him to be the highest-paid player in the game.
While many executives estimate Manning will end up in the $15 million/year range, the total contract could be worth as much as $120 million, with more than $40 million guaranteed.
While less of a risk than giving unproven rookie Matthew Stafford a guarantee of $42 million, one has to wonder if in the long run, signing Eli to that big of a deal will mean the Giants might be merely a decent team, rather than potentially a great one.
So far, the only quarterback that I can think of that has essentially turned down more money to make sure that his team could remain competitive–and with his three Super Bowl wins, two Super Bowl MVPs, an NFL MVP, $9 million in endorsements, and Gisele Bundchen waiting for him at home, I don’t think anyone would say that Tom Brady made the wrong call.
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I totally agree. My problem with the two manning brothers is that they are like their other quarterback idol Dan Marino. They want to have all of the pressure on themselves so much that the rest of the team becomes no good. This is the main reason why Dan Marino never won a super bowl. In 1984 hegot what he wanted in being the main man in an offense that dazzled the National Football League World but the defense that they had in the previous seasons were so bad in 1984 that they became one of the worst defenses. They could not stop the run or the pass and when they showed up to play the San Francisco 49ers they were picked apart by the West Coast Offense that Bill Walsh had set up. Roger Craig and Wendell Tyler had a field day both running and passing and Roger Craig prooved that he was one of the best running backs in the NFL who always has played his best in the postseason and in the three superbowls. The 84 Dolphin Defense and Running Game was no factor in that superbowl and in the entire season and the rest of the 80’s decade.
The Indiapolis Colts are the same way. In certain seasons and in some spots they can be very dominant. However, they are so one-dementional that they are a no-factor in the postseason. Their defense cannot stop anybody and they are always getting pushed around by physical teams such as the Jacksonville Jaguars. They are one of the worst-best teams in the National Football League. Peyton Mannning is easily one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game and will go to Canton when he retires. However, a bad defense and the loss of fellow future hall of famer in Marvin Harrisson will make it impossible to win another Lombardi Trophy in the near future no matter how many games they win in the regular season.
The same goes for the baby brother of one of the greatest quarterbacks Eli Manning. He has the ability to lead his team to victory but like his older brother he always struggles to win the big games. Yet even though he does not post big time numbers he is more than capable of leading his team to victory.
This goes to show one that even the stars have flaws. When you play for the money then the rest of the team will begin to suffer. The superstars, especially quarterbacks need to realize that it takes a team not one player that wins a championship.