Dave: Idea Eli’s overpaid, can’t play is a ‘crock’
He has said it before, but not as succinctly and not nearly as adamantly. Eli Manning is not going anywhere, and Dave Gettleman, the Giants’ general manager, does not know why this is such a difficult concept to grasp.
“Again,’’ Gettleman said Monday, “this narrative that Eli’s overpaid and can’t play is a crock. I’m telling you.’’
The Giants not only believe Manning, their 38-yearold quarterback, can still play, they also believe he is worth the money he will receive in 2019. Manning, entering the final year of his contract, will make $17 million in salary and bonuses and carry a salary-cap number of $23.2 million. On Monday, a $5 million bonus was wired into Manning’s bank account because he remained on the roster on the fifth day of the new NFL year.
Gettleman admitted the Giants “talked about’’ doing something with Manning’s contract, as far as making an adjustment to lessen the salary-cap hit. It was not a hotand-heavy topic, The Post previously reported, and never got much traction in the building.
“We discussed it and we just said we’re gonna keep moving,’’ Gettleman said. “So for right now, I think [Monday] is the day he gets his bonus, and we just keep moving.’’
Gettleman does not use the word “rebuilding’’ when discussing his plan for the present and future. He says the Giants are “building’’ and “The object of this is to win, as many games as possible, every year. We were 3-13 when we took over, we were 5-11 last year … we’re build- ing. I don’t understand why that’s a question. Really and truly, you can win while you’re building. They’re not separate pieces.’’
Gettleman explained trading away Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns allows the Giants to address needs at multiple positions. If, prior to free agency, the Giants released Manning, it would have freed up $12 million in salary cap to spend. This was not a consideration.
“You turn around and take a look at what happened last year once we got that O-line fixed, better — we’re gonna continue working on that — and look what we did in the second half of the year on of- fense,’’ Gettleman said.
“At the end of the day you’re gonna say ‘Gettleman’s out of his mind’ or ‘He knows what he’s talking about when he evaluates players.’ That’s really where it’s at. And I’m OK if you disagree with me, that’s fine. What I’m telling you is, if you turn around and take a look at what he’s making right now and look around the league and see what quarterbacks are making, if you were in my shoes you would say, the way he finished the season and what he’s making, it really wasn’t a decision to make.’’
Manning’s cap cost is tied with Cam Newton for seventh among quarterbacks in 2019. His annual average salary of $21 million is 14th among all quarterbacks. By trading Beckham ($16 million) and linebacker Olivier Vernon ($8 million) the Giants added $24 million to their dead-money hit of nearly $34 million on the cap for this season. Only the Dolphins have more dead money to account for in 2019, according to OverTheCap.com.
“Nobody wants to have that kind of dead money,’’ Gettleman said. “It’s the long-term vision that we have in the building of what we want to do and sometimes you got to do those things.’’