New York Giants co-owner John Mara has outlined the club's desire to secure a long-term contract extension with quarterback Eli Manning before the start of the 2015 season.
The 34-year-old is entering the final year of his contract with the Giants, but has seen fellow veteran signal-callers Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers sign lucrative deals with their respective teams.
Manning admitted that he was willing to wait to sign his contract at the end of the campaign, but Mara has revealed that the club want the deal done before their opener against the Dallas Cowboys.
He told WFAN: "We're going to try to lock him up. We're still having discussions with his agent. Our goal it to still try to reach a contract before the regular season starts. There's no deadline on it. We want him to finish his career as a Giant and that's something we think he wants too.
"He still has a lot of quality years left. It's a matter of surrounding him with quality people. He played much better last year. Part of that was having Odell [Beckham] come along and some other pieces as well. We have every reason to believe he's going to take another step forward this season."
Manning threw for 4,410 yards and 30 touchdowns to 14 interceptions for the Giants last season.
Simon Sinclair
