The next installment of As the Football Turns is in. I’m referring, of course, to the offseason drama between Peyton Manning and Colts owner Jim Irsay.
Irsay has now publicly put the ball in Manning’s court, saying this week that it’s up to Manning whether he returns to the team, but that it would require a restructured contract to reflect the uncertainty of Manning not playing for the last year, after two offseason neck surgeries.
This is an interesting strategy after the two issued a joint statement before the Super Bowl indicating that they would be sitting down to talk, and after Irsay responded to Manning making public statements about his frustration with the team. Apparently, Irsay making public statements is a different story.
“We can make it work if he wants to be here,” Irsay said. “We’d be excited to have him back and finish his career with us.
“I want him to be able to make the choice. We would love to have him back here if he can get healthy and we can look at doing a contract that reflects the uncertainty of the … healing process with the regeneration of the nerve.”
Manning is owed a $28 million roster bonus on March 8, and that is a very large figure for a player who has just sat out a full year. Irsay raising the issue isn’t unreasonable, but the way he is raising it – publicly in comments to the Indianapolis Star – is not the right way to go about it. This should be a closed door conversation, particularly after the awkward statements between Manning and the team during Super Bowl week. And after last season’s 2-14 record, it looks even more obvious than ever that Manning was propping up the Colts for the last decade.
This looks more and more like the later stages of a divorce, and Irsay is trying to come off looking like the good guy to the kids. Irsay added, “It can work if he wants to come back and can get back to being the old Peyton.”
It looks more and more like Manning may be on his way out of town, which is a sad outcome for Indianapolis fans, but if Peyton can still throw a football effectively – he’s got one of the best football minds to ever play the quarterback position. Stay tuned.
