Eli Manning $20 mil signing bonus

OK I think this is just crazy.

http://msn.foxsports.com/story/2615934

I agree, athletes are overpaid in general. A 20$ mil signing bonus is just too insane.

Damn, he got ripped off, he is worth more than that.

Holy Moly - maybe they could give Warner to the Dolphins...

$20 mil for the next Ryan Leaf?! j/k

How are they going to sign additonal players to get better? That''s a lot of money to tie into one ""unproven"" player.

I won''t expect much this season, but if he doesn''t pull a Ryan Leaf he''s definitely going to be something to build an offense off of. But, I guess I shouldn''t discredit some of the vets they have on their offense, it just might be a fun season to watch the Giants.

In the long run, I think he''s well worth it.

I agree. Football is much more of a team game than most other pro sports. Very few players (Michael Vick, Priest Holmes, Brett Favre, etc.) make enough of a difference to warrant that kind of contract. Certainly, an unproven player like Eli does not fit into that category. If he doesn''t blossom into a superstar, the Giants are screwed for many years to come.

I don''t think he''s going to pull a Ryan Leaf. He made an otherwise mediocre team last year a conference contender. Not an easy thing to do at Ole Miss.

"Flux" wrote:

Damn, he got ripped off, he is worth more than that.

Agreed. Eli''s going to be a franchise player.

Peyton didn''t play all that well at first, but it does thake time to adjust to the NFL. Lotta teams wish they had Peyton starting now.

And his little brother is just as good:completed 829 of 1,363 attempts for 10,119 yards, with 81 touchdowns and 35 interceptions at Ole'' Miss.

So, for this year, he rides the Pine behind Warner. Next year, he starts.

Right now, my Pats wishe that they had someone like Eli coming off the bench.

I''m always, always wary of First-Round QBs. Especially with the Era of Brady upon us. Personally, I wanted Rothliesberger, he seems more to me like someone who''ll understand the game, take a pounding and keep on going. A Favre prototype kind of guy.

But i''ll give Eli his shot. The Giants have got to have a big pick workout sooner or later after the Ron Dayne ""fiasco"".

"buzzvang" wrote:

I don''t think he''s going to pull a Ryan Leaf. He made an otherwise mediocre team last year a conference contender. Not an easy thing to do at Ole Miss.

Buzz, that avatar rocks!

Indeed. But can we drop the college stats thing? I mean, it just doesn''t translate. Remember Geno Toretta?

Thanks! Pyro gave me that link to imageshack, so I''ve just gotten all experimental.
/off topic

Point taken, Prederick. Anything can happen, but the odds are stacked in his favor. Given his lineage, his past performance, and his mentor, he''s got a lot going for him. Of course, it''s only an opinion, but comparing him to Leaf is like apples and cannonballs.

I just hink $20 mil is a lot for an unproven player at a skill position. Doing well in college is certainly no gaurntee to do well in the pros.

If he turns into a great player he will be worth it do not get me wrong but this is a big gamble.

Oh, I wouldn''t call him a new Ryan Leaf, but I am, as a habit, wary of 1st-round QBs, which are, at best, a 50/50 shot no matter the pedigree. Unlike the NBA, where Lebron was a sure thing, I just feel that there are too many variables and too many past flameouts to put all my eggs in Eli''s basket. I want the Giants to do well so much it hurts, but, as I said, personally I wanted Rothleisberger. Just a edgy vibe.

Yeah Buzz that big red X is great :). I think the same things were said about Peyton before he came in to the league and his opening year wasnt all that great. I have heard from many an SEC fan that they thnk Eli may very well be better then Peyton is. Hopefully he doesnt suffer the first round curse and heaven forbid he end up on the Madden cover...

I wouldn''t bother putting Ryan Leaf and Eli Manning in the same sentence. One has a much larger mental capacity/preparation and the coaching from a couple of famous QBs in his own family.

Yeah Archie would just beat the heck out of Eli if he embarrassed him. I can see like the scene in Mr. Deeds when the spoiled QB gives Deeds such a hard time :).

"SpyNavy" wrote:

Hopefully he doesnt suffer the first round curse and heaven forbid he end up on the Madden cover...

Which reminds me, is there a line in Vegas on something terrible happening to Ray Lewis? If not, there should be. And what if Ray ends up on the Cover of Sports Illustrated to boot?

If Ray ends up on the cover of Cat Fancy he wont make it through the season...

$20 million. He is set for life starting right now. I would go into camp, suck on purpose, get cut and then enjoy my life with no danger of losing my health in the NFL. It''s just insane! We need to pay firemen or cops $20 million. Or soldiers...

"simpilot" wrote:

$20 million. He is set for life starting right now. I would go into camp, suck on purpose, get cut and then enjoy my life with no danger of losing my health in the NFL. It''s just insane! We need to pay firemen or cops $20 million. Or soldiers...

You just described Heath Shuler but he didn''t suck on purpose, haha.

He now lives in my town and has a very successful real estate business.

""Underthrown WR Real Estate""?

In the post salary cap era is stupid to overpay for any one position...

The Patriots have shown that it takes a balanced team to compete and win..

He didn''t just get $20 million bonus today. There''s an article on ESPN about the contract details, go read it if you''re interested, but the basic jist is he gets like $5 million bonus up front, another 4-6 mil bonus in the next 2 years based on certain requirements and then like $9 million in 2007 if they exercise an option.

Well if it is just 5 million up front - pffft - send it back

Yes, incentives are the name of the game today, if you remember why Edgerrin James was so angry. So many teams are efforting to stay under the Salary cap so they negotiate contracts with ""If you throw for X yards you make X amount of money"" clauses that have no effect on their Salary Cap status.

Anyway, Looks like Larry Fitzgerald just scored big too. IMHO, he''s a bigger lock than Eli is.