Super Bowl 2012: Wes Welker and Players Looking to Earn Big Offseason Paydays

When the New York Giants and New England Patriots lock horns in the Super Bowl on Sunday evening, winning the Lombardi Trophy will be the only thing on the mind of each and every player. With that said, there is more to play for than just a Super Bowl ring for some players.

NFL free agency starts soon after the Super Bowl, so any impending free agents on either team will certainly want to turn in their best possible performance. They will be doing that anyway, but the possibility of a fat, new contract has to help matters.

Here are three players who will be playing for a new deal in 2012.

LB Rob Ninkovich (NE)

Over the past couple seasons linebacker Rob Ninkovich has gone from a virtual nobody to a key player on the Patriots defense. He had the best season of his career by far in 2011 as he finished the year with 74 tackles, 6.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions. With Andre Carter on the shelf, Ninkovich's pass rush will be key in the Super Bowl.

There is no question that Ninkovich is New England's type of player, so the odds are that the Patriots will re-sign him. If Ninkovich has a big Super Bowl performance, though, he might be able to create a bit of competition on the open market. The Pats should be able to lock him up cheaply as things currently stand, but a monster Super Bowl would change things.

WR Mario Manningham (NYG)

Giants wide receiver Mario Manningham only ended up with about 500 receiving yards during the regular season as quarterback Eli Manning often looked to Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Also, the fact that Manningham dealt with nagging injuries all year didn't help. Even though he his only New York's No. 3 receiver, his talent level is high and he could easily start for most teams in the league.

Manningham has already taken a big step toward a new contract as he has a touchdown reception in each of the Giants' playoff games this year. There is a chance that converted wide receiver Julian Edelman will be covering Manningham on Sunday, so he has the potential for a big game. If Manningham goes off, then there will be plenty of teams knocking on his door and looking to make him a starter next season.

WR Wes Welker (NE)

Perhaps no wide receiver in the NFL is a better fit for the offense they play in than Patriots slot machine Wes Welker. In five seasons with the Pats, Welker has had over 100 catches and 1,100 yards in four of those campaigns. He is clearly quarterback Tom Brady's go-to target in all areas of the field, so there isn't much reason for Welker to sign elsewhere during the offseason.

One would think that the Patriots will be desperate to re-sign him, but Welker can up the ante a bit if he comes through on the grandest stage of them all. It would truly be shocking if Welker signed with anyone other than the Patriots during the offseason, but he knows that a bidding war would help him financially. Welker is already going to get a good chunk of change, but a legendary Super Bowl outing will only increase that.