Hey, cool! Manning took less money so his team could sign/keep players!

Actually, no, he didn't.

     Peyton Manning's "people" came out Friday and said Manning was willing to take less money than the Colts offered to him in an act of Godly selflessness to help his team go out and get players or so the Colts could keep their own free agents. Excellent news for the pink jersey Manning fans!

     Too bad it was a few days late, as Manning knew that though players couldn't sign until Friday at 6PM EST, players could verbally agree to terms with teams, just as his teammate, Clint Sessions, did with the Jaguars. By the time Friday at 6PM rolled around, all of the big-name free agents, except for one player, had already agreed to sign with teams like the Eagles, Jaguars, Seahawks, and well, every other team except for the Colts.

     Manning held the Colts hostage until his deal was done except for two moves: resigning both Melvin Bullitt and Adam Vinatieri.  After Manning signed his contract, which I will go over in a moment, the Colts have made   one move: resigning Joseph Addai. That's it. 

Now, onto this team-saving contract. 
     
     Manning signs a five-year $90 million dollar contract. Hey, that is only 18 million per year! Not bad for a sure-fire Hall of Fame quarterback, to be sure, but how is it broken down? In the first three years of his contract, the 35 year-old Peyton Manning, coming off of two straight off-seasons with neck injuries, gets paid 23 million per season. A little math says shows in the last two years of his contract, when Manning will be in his upper 30s and hitting 40, he'll be making 10.5 million per year. 


     Way to go, guy! You REALLY saved the Colts a lot of money there. Not only did he wait to tell them he'd take less and then didn't, he also front-loaded the contract so he'll get at the start of the contract and the Colts will have less money to spend each year as you his the end of your prime and start coming toward retirement. Reverse that contract's payment timeline and you truly care about the organization and its future. The way it is now shows Friday's antics were all just a game for the media to eat up. Which they did, for the most part. Of course.