Eli surpasses Peyton

They are equal in Lombardi Trophies but older brother Peyton beats little brother Eli in every other major category. Peyton has the passing yards, touchdowns, QB rating and every other stat in his favor (even if you look just at what he did during his first 5 years). The older Manning also beats his baby bro in MVP awards (3-0) and Pro Bowls (9-1). Peyton even has better numbers over his 15 game post-season career, than Eli does over any single season (which is impressive considering the quality teams he posted those numbers against). But now after all these years living in his older brothers large shadow, Eli dominates Peyton in one major area; money.

Now I understand that this is the way the system works. Lesser players in their prime now will make more money than those of 5 or 10 years ago. And players 5 years from now will sign for more money than Eli is getting ($97.5 million over 6 years) now. But its just so ironic that when you talk about the best 'Manning' in the league (not to mention best quarterback) Peyton is by far the obvious answer. Yet when the question of who makes the most money comes up Eli is now the correct answer. Now don't get me wrong Eli has been a good quarterback so far, and has the potential (just with his name alone) to be great. But he is not in the same league as Peyton (except for their comedic value in commercials). Though I will say, you had to know this was going to get pricey for the Giants after Matt Cassell signed his extension. If Cassell is worth $10 million + per year, then Eli is a bargain at $15 million.

Overall this move had to get done. The Giants couldn't afford not to sign Eli after the Super Bowl win and the drama during draft day. And Eli couldn't alienate the New York fan base (and media) that he worked so hard to become a part of. The younger Manning will now have to take his game to the next level, and show that he is worth being one of the highest paid NFL'ers (basically he needs to start putting up Peyton numbers).