FO on the Cap and the Colts

FO is on ESPN Insider again talking about cap allocation and QBs.

In Indianapolis, Peyton Manning accounts for 16.5 percent of his club’s 2009 salary cap, with a whopping cap number of $21.2 million. Conversely, backup QB Jim Sorgi accounts for 1 percent of the Colts’ cap, with a cap number of $1.31 million. Combined, Manning and Sorgi account for 17.5 percent of Indianapolis’ salary cap, or the highest combined amount allocated to any NFL team’s top two quarterbacks.

The combination of Donovan McNabb and Michael Vick in Philadelphia ranks second, with 13.8 percent of the Eagles’ cap allocated to their top two quarterbacks. In spite of these facts, neither the Colts nor the Eagles are pressed up against the cap, ranking 19th ($6.64 million) and 15th ($9.89 million), respectively, in salary-cap room as of Aug. 28, according to league sources. From a roster-building perspective, the Eagles and Colts are known in league circles for building through the draft; the fact that they can afford to invest so much into the quarterback position and still maintain a decent amount of cap space is a direct reflection of the low cap numbers of the young players who fill the rest of their rosters.