The Colts could repeat the past, allowing Manning to play out his contract and place the Franchise tag on him next year, assuming CBA negotiations keep the tag in place. The year-to-year strategy, even with the team’s signature player, is something that is probably being discussed. However, the owner made a public commitment to reward Manning back in December; the only issue becomes how much and for how long.
Contract negotiations are about allocation of risk. At age 27 in 2004, there was little risk to the Colts in rewarding Manning. At age 34 in 2010, there is more concern about future long-term risk. The Colts are not going to write a signing bonus in the range of the $34.5 million they gave him in 2004; the guaranteed money here will be more spread out, more layered, and potentially rolling.
Hmm. I don’t know if I believe that last part.
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