Victor Cruz: It's Not Easy Seeing Guys Get 'Huge Paydays'

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- After months and month of negotiations and back-and-forth discussions with management, Victor Cruz signed a five-year, $43 million extension last week.

He should be feeling pretty good about his new cushy contract, right?

Maybe not as good as you would think.

"I'm not going to say it's easy when you see guys getting these huge paydays and you feel like you're at the same caliber, if not better than, some of those guys," the Giants' wide receiver told Sirius XM Radio on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old is locked up through the 2018 season, and the Paterson, N.J., native admitted that he took a hometown discount to stay with Big Blue.

"You ask yourself, would you want to play for this amount in New York and play in the best city in the world and play football — and I'm a hometown kid — and be close to home and your mom and your family?" Cruz said. "Or do you want to take a big payday and go somewhere like, you know, Kansas City or Minnesota, where your family might not be able to come as often as you want and you're living in a city you're not too familiar with and it's an adjustment for you?

"You have to take all those things into account as well."

The 2012 Pro Bowler will earn $15.6 million in guaranteed money, and his pact is the richest for a receiver in franchise history. His new contract makes him the 18th highest-paid wideout in football.

The third-year player was a restricted free agent at the end of the season, and the Giants offered him a first-round tender worth $2.879 million. No other teams made an offer to Cruz, as they would have had to surrender a first-round pick as compensation.

Instead of throwing himself into the free-agent market again next offseason, Cruz decided to accept New York's offer and stay with the franchise that signed him.

"I couldn't go another year with that on my mind," Cruz told Sirius XM Radio in regard to free agency. "Answering all these questions from (the media) and stuff like that. I'm glad to get it over with."

The 6-foot-0, 204-pounder caught 86 passes for 1,092 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2012.

You May Also Be Interested In These Stories