As the i-dotting and t-crossing between the Giants and quarterback Eli Manning continues, there’s a rumor making the rounds that the delay in finalizing the six-year, $97.5 million deal arises from tensions between CAA and IMG.
CAA handles Eli’s football contract; IMG retained his marketing rights when Tom Condon left IMG for CAA a couple of years ago. As the rumor goes, IMG has thrown a wrench into the finalization of the deal.
A source with knowledge of the situation says that the CAA-IMG dynamic has no impact on the ongoing negotiations between the player and the team, but that it’s a “language issue” between the Giants and Manning.
That incredibly broad description, which would be a lot more interesting if the “language” at “issue” entailed one or more of the seven words that can’t be uttered on television, could be virtually anything.
On Monday, Manning said that the delay arises from “very, very little stuff,” per Ralph Vacchiano of the New York Daily News. But if it really were “very, very little stuff,” we doubt that the two sides would be so tight lipped about the specific nature of the dispute.
And so the standoff continues.
Maybe the Giants ultimately will decide that the smarter play is to see whether Eli can still be Eli without Plaxico there to command constant double coverage.