Eli Manning contract talks: 'No meaningful discussions,' says NFL Network

Just days after reports surfaced that the New York Giants hoped to reach a contract extension with quarterback Eli Manning within the next week or two, NFL Network's Rand Getlin has pumped the brakes on that talk. Friday on 'NFL Total Access' Getlin said "there have been no meaningful, substantive discussions about the contract in some time."

Getlin the added "at this moment there's nothing that indicates that it's going to happen in an imminent fashion."

Confused yet?

NFL Network's Steve Wyche added that a new deal for Manning could average $18-20 million per year, calling that the "going rate" for quarterbacks in the current market.

"The Giants want him to be their starting quarterback," Wyche said.

We know a deal between Manning and the Giants will eventually get done. As Wyche indicated, the Giants have repeatedly said they want Manning to remain with the franchise, hopefully retiring as a Giant. Manning has said he would be "comfortable" playing this season without an extension, and the Giants could even franchise tag him for the 2016 season if it came to that.

A deal in the $18-20 million range would be slightly below the four-year, $87 million contract Ben Roethlisberger got from the Pittsubrgh Steelers. That deal averages $21.85 million annually.

Spotrac recently compared Manning to Roethlisberger, his brother Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees to come up with a contract prediction for the 34-year-old Giants' quarterback. After weighing a variety of performance and age-related contracts, and looking at the current contracts of those four veteran quarterbacks, Spotrac forecast a four-year, $68 million deal for Manning with approximately $32 million guaranteed. That would be an average salary of $17 million, slightly below the NFL Network prediction.

Would that be a fair deal for Manning? Your thoughts, Giants fans?