One of the game’s most accomplished players of the last decade has received the tag treatment from his organization.
Per ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, the Colts have placed the exclusive franchise tag on quarterback Peyton Manning. He joins Philadelphia’s Mike Vick as the only players who were given the exclusive status — no other club is allowed to sign him to an offer sheet.
As the franchise player, Manning will make 120% of his 2010 salary in 2011, meaning he’ll be raking in a cool $23 million. For a player of his caliber though, that’s just the price that needs to be paid.
Peyton likely won’t hold on to this designation for too long, however. According to Colts owner Jim Irsay, the team is still continuing to negotiate with Manning on a long-term extension that would make him the highest-paid player in league history. Last month, he was offered a deal by Indianapolis that, in all probability, would pay him more than Tom Brady’s record-setting contract, which included $48.5 in guarantees alone.
His situation is comparable to Vick’s in the sense that both players weren’t leaving their squads. The one-year contract just ensures more time can be spent hammering out something that will keep both signal-callers in town for years to come.
In Manning’s case, there was never any doubt that he’d retire as a lifelong Colt. It’s just a matter of when, not if, a long-term pact is agreed to; one that would put him in the record books for something other than his play on the field.
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I think that Peyton should decide. He has given the Colts everything he’s had for a long time now and EVERYONE should be behind whatever he wants.