Why Are The Best NFL Players Paid Less Than Eli Manning?

Tom Brady makes less than him. LaDainian Tomlinson has a smaller paycheck. Hell, even his brother — the superior brother — Peyton Manning earns less than him.

So why does Eli Manning get a six year, $97.5 million contract?

I have no clue.

Zero MVP awards and zero passing titles are not the resume of football’s best, but young Eli can do no better. He does have the Super Bowl MVP award, but we all know that anyone on the Giants defensive line was more deserving of that honor — after Steve Spagnuolo’s unit made Tom Brady duck and cover like it was 1959.

But good for Eli. We know the guy’s been through a lot, having to grow up in the shadow of two great NFL quarterbacks. It couldn’t have been easy for him to have the New York fans give him hell in 2007 before the Giants dramatic title run.

As a Birds fan, I tend to have a more negative opinion of Eli. I’ve seen how Plaxico Burress, and his 6-foot-5 frame, bailed out Manning more times than Shawn Michaels did for Marty Jannetty back for the Rockers (well, not as bad as the one he gave him). With Burress, the Giants were the superior team to the Eagles (the Giants only lost twice — both in 2006 when Jeff Garcia was piloting the ship), but when Burress was suspended last year, the Giants looked hapless on offense (mainly due to Eli) in two embarrassing home losses to Philly.

Not exactly a good time to reward the captain of the offensive side of the ball with the best salary in the league. I’m just saying that maybe, just maybe, the guy should have had, I don’t know, an MVP season. Am I right?

Let’s see how the New York faithful treat him if he struggles without Burress now that he’s one of the highest paid players in the league. That should go over real well in this economy!

Besides, making over 15 mill a season isn’t bad for a QB with a 55.9 career completion percentage and an 86.4 career rating.

Mediocre is the new great in ‘09, just ask Jimmy Fallon.