This has become a tragedy for Peyton and to a lesser degree the Colts. There is no win in this situation whatsoever. Over the years Peyton has earned my respect and grudging admiration. Yes I was critical of his happy feet, the way the rules were changed in his favor, the Manning face, the overexposure on every commercial break, the accolades before they were due. But he is a baller, and plays with an intensity matched only by the very few.
And then comes the neck injury, the three surgeries and the uncertain prognosis that basically has him in limbo. I can think of few worse ways to stage the final scenes of his impressive career as this. While there is much speculation as to where he may land, since it is obviously not Lucas Field, the uncertainty of his recovery prohibits any offer from another team. The 60% state of recovery over 4/5 months is still a red flag on any contract. The lack of information on how much the nerves need to regenerate is also significant since he may have recovered from surgery and be physically fit, but if the nerves still aren't functioning properly future ability and vulnerability remain heavily in doubt.
He does deserve a lot of sympathy, though like any tragic figure he is also, to a certain extent, the author or co-author of his own undoing. His contract contains the poison pill that was meant to protect him against his employer, but now is the impediment to good business by the Colts. It is ironic that this was first presented as a contract that showed Manning was not being greedy and merely commensurate with Brady's $19m a year for 5 years. But the devil is in the details and the fact that he maximized the benefits for himself and put all the risk on the Colts has now come to light. I don't know if Brady's contract does the same, but both Condon and Manning forged a contract that ignored the likelihood of serious injury. Furthermore if I have my dates right, they did this within the period of the first surgical procedure. You can say more fool the Colts for accepting it, but the truth is that all parties have suffered because of the contract structure. and the fact that the Colts could potentially pay out over $50m (already $25m in the hole) for a player who didn't throw in 2011 and may still not do so in 2012, highlights the crisis for the organization, it is just too much to pay for too little.
I can imagine that Polian struggled mightily to balance that realization of reality against the legacy and loyalty he built with Peyton, and Irsay most probably had to remove him to ensure sustainability of his business. As I said a tragedy all round, and one caused by a possible sense of hubris and greed when it came to writing that contract. Peyton deserves better than this, he deserves a season or more to achieve his autumnal legacy. More than anything he deserves to go out, guns blazing, as a Colt, but alas that is not to be.
I close with the definition of tragedy and the wish for Peyton that it wasn't so. There are many contributors to this tragedy but he was central to the acts and decisions that led up to it.
"A drama or literary work in which the main character is brought to ruin or suffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances".
