PATRIOTSFANINPA

Colts' Jim Irsay: Peyton Manning will be 'highest-paid player in the league' - The Huddle: Football News from the NFL - USATODAY.com

Maybe I am taking this the wrong way,but it seems since Manning and Brady are both entering their Payday all of a sudden Irsay has to proclaim that Peyton will be the highest paid player in the game this offseason.

I think this could stir the pot with the inevitable Kraft and Brady negotiations if Irsay gets totally ridiculous with the cash we can expect him to pay to Peyton who is the best QB in the game today but also to a guy that is nearing his mid 30s to me I don't know if he is worth the highest pay but you know Irsay will find a way to try and make Kraft look cheap and not as dedicated to retaining his franchise player through retirement.

I know Brady gives us the song and dance routine saying everyone in the league is overpaid and he just plays because he loves the game, but you know a high double digit million contract to the only QB who is of his class in today's league could make things interesting in Brady's negotiations.

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Rob0729

Cmon, you are reading too much into this. Irsay said nothing that stirred the pot in any way and he was basically stating the obvious. Manning has 4 league MVPs and since he signed his last contract, he has been to two Super Bowls and come Sunday could win them both. Obviously, he will be the highest paid player in the league. No player means more to his team the Manning.

Irsay saying that Manning's and Brady's contract situations being intertwined is also stating the obvious. Whoever gets the new deal first will he the basis the other player's agent will try to structure a new deal.

When Brady signed his current contract, Manning and Vick were already making more than what Brady signed for. Brady was willing to take less to stay with the Pats. This time, both QBs are looking at contracts around $20 million a year if they want to push the issue. Whatever Manning does, Brady knows the basic value and will either take a hometown discount or not.

Not everything the Colts say are deliberate swipes at the Pats.

PATRIOTSFANINPA

However the question lies.... Is or should Brady be in the neighborhood of Manning's contract if they both are in negotiations? - Without a cap issue right now I don't see why he should not be paid as much as Peyton.

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Patspsycho

This is why it's important we get Brady's extension done first, so that the Colts can go bankrupt trying to raise the ante on that.

Then we go after Wilfork.

Rob0729

They both deserve to be paid around the same amount. Manning's agent is Tom Condon so Peyton probably won't be looking to give any hometown discounts.

Brady has repeately said that he is more concerned about his legacy than being the highest paid player. He has plenty of money. So does Gisele (in 2007, she was the 16th richest woman in entertainment with a net worth of $70 million). So I expect as long as the Pats don't totally lowball him, he will sign a new contract without much fighting for a decent amount less than Manning will.

MoLewisrocks

Jim isn't the sharpest tool in the drawer, which is why he has Polian. The last time he signed Peyton to a contract that made him the highest paid player in the league, he relied on the salary cap growth to accommodate it. Almost didn't happen when the CBA almost unraveled in 2006. Now, with the liklihood of a tighter cap (and potentially one rolled back to 2008 levels out of the gate to boot) in any new CBA and with the investments they have made in their defense, good luck on navigating this minefield... But he is right that the top deal on any team is always the easiest one to settle on parameters of, and that should always be your QB or what's the point...

Brady will likely be extended at something in excess of the second tier deals that recently got done and where Peyton lands, with somewhat less guaranteed money/signing bonus and probably a much different structure although he may take home almost as much as Peyton over the first x number of years depending on whose spinning it... That's the way it went last time, too, when Irsay had to sell his personal memorabelia collection to help fund Peyton's $34.5M signing bonus. Brady took $26.5 and allowed the team to split his bonus into signing ($14.5M) and option ($12M)bonuses paid over the first two seasons so they could spread it better and also so they could have a few bucks left each season for other guys bonuses...He didn't require the phony backloaded salaries to fluff his deal, which he may presently be regretting...

Dont' be shocked if both get 7 or more year deals so that the cap hits can be spread/managed via restructure if necessary and they don't get caught potentially tagging them at 39... The goal in most deals is to be able to walk away from a guy approaching his final season, but in the case of HOF QB's it's not heartbreaking to have to pay a little in parting if you had them productive and happy for 90% of the term of the deal... You're likely not going to be a ton at the position for some time after they leave.

I don't honestly anticipate $18-20M per for Manning. He's entering his mid 30's and this will be his to retirement deal. $15M is presently the high water mark, and there may not be much exponential movement above that for a while given the cap situation. What both may get is more guaranteed money than Albert, which is only fair since they are a far better bet to deliver long enough to fully amortize it... Brady can't give the max discount every contract because that undercuts his position with his teamates and union peers, but he won't squeeze the FO for his own reasons.

Brady is really wired a little differently than most of his peers. I remember in 2003 or 04 when he wasn't named to the pro bowl and Felger tried to get a rise out of him over it he told him off the record (which is one reason Felger no longer has access, indiscretion) he didn't give a F about pro bowls, he was going to the HOF...

BradyFTW!

This has nothing to do with Tom Brady's contract- it's just the Colts acknowledging what everyone already knew- that Manning is going to make a ton of money on his next contract. So should Brady.

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PATSYLICIOUS

This is all nothing but heIRSAY *lolzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

Joker

uh..if THAT is comedy..well...don't quit your day job...

ctpatsfan77

The most recent CBA specifically prevents such workarounds (bonuses could not be prorated more than six years, or five years in the final capped year).

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"Momentum was quickly snatched away by New England, who once again proved that any Patriot, at any moment, can make a play." —Inside the NFL, Packers v. Patriots

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