According to the New York Post, Manning has refused to take the remaining $500,000 payment on his endorsement deal with the financially strapped St. Vincent's Hospital.
The hospital is already $700 million dollars in debt and has cut jobs and salaries to keep afloat.
Manning has been praised for waiving his contract and agreeing to continue fundraising work free of charge. He and his wife, Abby, have pledged to renovate the birthing center that will be renamed the Eli & Abby Manning Birthing Center.
This past summer, the hospital reportedly agreed to pay Manning $1 million over five years as an extension to his ongoing deal. St. Vincent's also was going to pay Manning and his merchandising company $250,000 per year from 2009 to 2014. In return, Manning planned to donate $50,000 back to the hospital to net a $200,000 annual payment.
Manning's good deed has not gone unnoticed, though, and actually is receiving some negative attention. The quarterback has done publicity work for the hospital since 2006 (when the company was still bankrupt) and has taken home about $600,000. Some see Manning as less than a saint and believe he should return the money he has already received.
Comments on the New York Post article poured in, including: "Some rotten, greedy sports figure making over 15mil a year is taking money from a hospital that is in dire straights. Cripes, it's a hospital, you don't take money from hospitals, you promote them for FREE. That's humanitarianism. Manning is a real loser."
More than just everyday people are voicing their opinions.
"If you want to do the right thing, give the money back," said Craig Carton of the Boomer and Carton in the Morning show on WFAN.
Manning signed a six-year, $97 million extension with the Giants prior to the last offseason, making him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL. This offseason, he's getting a reminder of what a tough town New York can be.
