Eli Manning is heading into the final year of his contract with the Giants, and so far there have been no talks between him and the team about extending that deal beyond the 2015 season, as he tells Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.
“No discussions yet,” Manning said. “I don’t know if there will be or not.”
While the Giants certainly haven’t expressed publicly that they intend to wait until 2016 to try to work out an extension with their quarterback, Manning’s comments suggest that it’s possible he’ll head into the season without an agreement in place. Though for his part, the two-time Super Bowl MVP doesn’t seem too concerned about it.
“I guess I’m just happy that I’m still playing and still got a job to do,” Manning said. “I guess I’ve always just thought, they gave me a contract for six years, this is the sixth year. I don’t have any complaints. I’m going to do my job, no matter what. My focus is on playing good football, winning games, and whatever happens after that happens after that.”
As one of three notable veteran quarterbacks from the 2004 draft class who headed into this offseason without a long-term extension in place, Manning likely took notice when Ben Roethlisberger re-upped with the Steelers for a five-year, $99MM contract back in March. The other top QB from that ’04 first round, Philip Rivers, was the subject of numerous trade rumors earlier this spring, but it doesn’t seem as if the Giants have considered any sort of trade involving Manning — the team simply appears willing to let the situation play out in the coming weeks, or months, without rushing into a new deal.
Manning, 34, is coming off one of his best statistical seasons, having posted a 63.1% completion percentage, 4,410 passing yards, and 30 touchdowns in 2014. For now, he’s set to earn a $17MM base salary for the coming year.