Sources -- Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning gets five-year, $90 million deal - ESPN It seems Peyton has left some money on the table in a magnanimous gesture in an effort to help the team. Most believed Peyton's contract would set a precedent for the deal Drew Brees would receive. I am fairly certain they even have the same agent. Therefore it would follow that our team may have a little more in salary cap room than we previously projected.(about 10 mil over 5 years) Every little bit helps.
I believe Brees would do the same thing without Peyton doing it. Anyways, Peyton is only doing it for the publicity. Why else would HE mention it to the press about what's going on with his contract. I bet tons of players do this but at the same time don't mention it to the press.
Brees seems like a great individual and team mate and may have very well done it with out Peyton doing it. However, I don't think there is any proof that Peyton did this for publicity. When he signs a huge contract it makes news on ESPN and their reporters want as many details as possible. Peyton doesn't have to be the one feeding ESPN the details, Polian or someone else could be doing it. I don't think that tons of players sacrifice pay for the good of the team and just don't publicize it. There are probably a few that do, but the vast majority of players hire agents to get as good a deal as possible. I have never met Peyton, but I have worked shoulder to shoulder with Archie and he seemed like a nice guy. My wife has communicated with Olivia through out the years and came away very impressed, telling me what a wonderful lady she was. I am inclined to cut Peyton some slack because he presumably gave up 10mil to improve his teams chances of winning and I have no proof it was for publicity.
Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning signs five-year, $90 million deal - ESPN I agree most players wouldn't have done this and I have respect for Archie but not so much for Peyton. He's still pretty stuck up. He's earning 23 million a year for the first three years which is exactly what he would have earned before. The quote up there sounds like he's trying to pump himself up. Normally the press reports about it not the player.
Man, I'm not a big fan of any of the Mannings, but Peyton has been a class act from day one. It was reported repeatedly in the press long before he said a word and he addressed it. It's also a way to put the heat on the Colts to keep talent around him. I can't stand Eli and my respect for Archie has dwindled considerably, but I can't say anything bad about Peyton unless I just make something up. Is he a trash talker? No! Has he ever been in any type of trouble and embarrassed his family or the NFL? Nope, squeaky clean. His work ethic is legend, no one studies the game like he does. I can't stand the Colts, I'm so glad the Saints took them down a notch. However I can't find a reason to hate on Peyton, maybe I'm missing something.
I've been a fan of the Manning clan ever since the Saints drafted Archie. He was a class act and now his kids are. It all trickled down.
