At the end of the day, the NFL is a business.
That’s the mindset that all 32 NFL teams operate under. They are running a business. Fans don’t seem to get that.
Peyton Manning has spent his entire career with the Indianapolis Colts. He’s knocked down records once thought impervious to assault, and winning at the highest level of football has seemed remarkably easy. That being said, all good things must end, and this is the end of the Manning era in Indianapolis.
The official decision has to be made by March 8th, the day Manning is due a $28 million option bonus. Yes, the Colts could restructure Manning’s contract in hopes of keeping him, but that’s not in the best interests of either party.
In the end, money talks in the NFL. It always has, and it always will. I’ll acknowledge that Manning would likely take a pay cut to stay with the Colts, but would you give up such a bonus? No.
On the medical front, Peyton Manning has received good news of late. A report last week said that Manning had been medically cleared to continue with his normal football activities. At this point, all signs point to Manning being back on the field in 2012. The question is, where?
Many comparisons have been drawn in recent weeks about the similarities between Joe Montana’s departure from San Francisco and Manning’s departure from Indianapolis, most recently from Gene Wojciechowski. This is where I have to say, please stop. It’s not the same, and not once in the history of the universe has history repeated. That’s not the way it works.
In San Francisco, Steve Young was coming off of an MVP season when Montana finally left town. In Indianapolis, the heir apparent hasn’t even been drafted yet. The 49ers knew that they had a high caliber replacement. The Colts only can expect to have a high caliber replacement. There are similarities, but the game has changed since the early 90s.
It’s likely that the Colts haven’t made their final decision on Peyton Manning just yet, and there’s nothing wrong with that. As Jim Irsay has said, it really is best to wait as long as possible to make such meaningful decisions. The Colts are working on a March 8th deadline, exactly a month from today. There’s no reason not to take the better part of that time going through the proper process of evaluating the team’s options. That seems fair, but at the end of the day the decision must be to release Manning. Allowing Manning to stay would go against every other decision the Colts have made since the season ended. It’s a new beginning in Indianapolis; time to let go of the past.
Colts fans need to realize a couple of things. The run that was led by Manning over the last decade was nothing short of astounding, probably teetering on the edge of impossibility. It was a great run, but it’s done. Turn out the lights, the party’s over.
