New deal has teammates happy for Eli Manning and not expecting change

NY Giants teammates happy with Eli Manning’s deal

ALBANY, N.Y. — Eli Manning hasn’t signed his $97 million, six-year contract extension, and he is already taking some good-natured grief from his New York Giants teammates.

Some members of the offensive line have asked Manning where they are going on vacation, and of course there have been queries about what type of Rolex they are going to get.

“We were (teasing him) before he got the deal, but this just gives us more ammo,” center Shaun O’Hara said Thursday between practices at the University at Albany. “It’s almost too easy. Everybody knows about it and I like to be more creative when I am teasing Eli. I am sure he is getting it from everybody. I’m just glad he one-upped Peyton.”

Manning will earn an average of $15.3 million, making him the NFL’s highest-paid player in terms of annual salary. His big brother, Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts, averages $14.17 million.

Teammates were happy for Manning, whose contract runs through the 2015 season.

“He definitely deserved it,” defensive end Justin Tuck said. “Considering the market he is playing in and all the pressure he has on him as far as being a New York Giant in this city, the pressure he gets from the fans, the organization and his teammates, his family, he definitely deserves it.”

Manning, the No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft, has been the Giants’ starting quarterback since the middle of his rookie season and has led them to the playoffs in each of his four full seasons as a starter. He engineered New York’s Super Bowl upset of New England in 2008 and was the game’s MVP. He led the Giants to the NFC East title this past season and earned his first Pro Bowl berth.

“That list is definitely piling up,” Tuck added. “We want him to be in a Giants uniform as long as he plays, and this contract goes a long way to solidifying that.”

Offensive tackle David Diehl said Manning deserves every penny.

“Good things happen to good people,” Diehl said. “He has come in from the get-go and continued to work hard and continued to be the guy we want to have the ball on every single play.”

O’Hara added that Manning has worked hard and been accountable to his teammates and the organization, adding everyone knew that he was going to be the face of the Giants once he grew into the role.

O’Hara doesn’t see Manning changing because of the new contract.

“You’re not going to see him showing up in fur coats and Bentleys with diamonds all over his chest,” O’Hara said. “That is not his style. We’re not worried about it going to his head, and if it does, we’ll be glad to bring him back down to reality.”

Tuck even quipped that Manning would continue to drive a Toyota.

O’Hara laughed about that.

“It’s free,” O’Hara said. “Why would he dump it?”