GIANTS GIVE ELI GIANT EXTENSION

The New York football Giants have given Eli Manning a 6-year $97.5 million extension through the year 2015 including a $35 million signing bonus. This mega deal makes Eli the highest paid player in franchise history and one of the highest paid players in the NFL, he's making more than big brother Peyton.

For all those out there who cannot fathom this deal, let's take a look at why Eli got this contract.

First off, it indeed may be too much for a QB like Eli, however, that is if you believe that great stats = more money, as opposed to winning games = more money. Since Eli has become a full-time starter in 2005, he has taken his team to the playoffs four years in a row, only other QB in the league to do that in the same span is Peyton Manning. In the 5 years since he has been drafted, he has lead his team to 2 division titles, Super Bowl, he has won a Super Bowl MVP, made the Pro Bowl, and has a string of 71 straight starts, second longest active streak to Peyton Manning. He has also won a Super Bowl in about half the time it took Peyton Manning to win one. And for those of you who claim that winning a Super Bowl does not define a QB, that guys like Trent Dilfer won a Super Bowl, get real. There is a reason that Trent Dilfer depsite winning a Super Bowl did not accoplish anything else in his career, he won a SB behind arguably the greatest defense the NFL has seen in the modern era. Also, if winning a Super Bowl does not define how great a QB is, then why is McNabb always under so much scrutiny in Philly, why is it that Dallas fans are peeling their skin over the fact that Romo has not even won a playoff game? Ask Jets fans who have not seen their team appear in the Super Bowl in 40 years if they would take Eli if it meant that they would just get there. More than half the teams in the league would kill for a QB like Eli, and it is not just the on field stuff.

Remember that Eli has had to grow as a QB under the spotlight of New York and with the biggest media market watching his every move, snap, and throw. He has had to contend with the likes of jerks like Tiki Barber, Jeremy Shockey, and Plaxico Burress, the former two he won a Super Bowl without. He has had to put up with the being in the shadow if Peyton and the bigger shadow of the name "Manning". He has dealt with it all and still accomplished more than most QB's who have played this great game. And for you Giants fans that complain about Eli and his faces or how he cannot play in the wind, I say hey, we can always go back to the days of DAve Brown, Kent Graham, and Danny Kannell. Eli has stepped out of the shadows of his brother and last name, now he will create his own shadow, a shadow of greatness that will be cast over New York, over the NFL, and into the hearts of all Giants fans for the rest of his career while wearing blue.