For an NFL team poised to potentially make quarterback Eli Manning the highest paid player in the league, the New York Giants sure aren’t sweating pending contract talks.
An unnamed team official told Matt Mosley of ESPN.com today that this won’t be a rough-and-tumble negotiation. (I know, I know, that’s what she said.)
“There’s no way this thing becomes contentious,” a Giants official told Mosley. “Something will probably get done before the season, and everyone will move on.”
The sheer volume of the potential money involved could obviously get complicated.
Per this report, Manning could receive a staggering $50 million in guaranteed money, which would eclipse Washington Redskins defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth’s guaranteed figure of $41 million that he garnered this offseason.
And the total maximum value of the deal could approach $120 million over a seven-year term.
The Giants’ organizational thinking is that the former Super Bowl Most Valuable Player has established himself at age 28, so they want to lock him up long-term with a blockbuster deal.
According to Mosley, the Giants aren’t considering a scenario where they would let Manning play out his current deal and then designate him as their franchise player for 2010.
And Mosley predicts that a deal could be struck as soon as next month.
Of course, Manning wouldn’t become an unrestricted free agent in 2010 if a new collective bargaining agreement isn’t done before the start of the free agent signing period.
The Giants’ plan is to never let this one drag out that far.
