Re: OT: Irsay stirring the pot? "Manning will be the highest paid player in the leagu
Wow, indeed. That's too low. That's less than his last contract averaged.
Peyton will average $20 mil a year minimum.
Actually it's probably right on the mark. And his last contract averaged $14M (7/$98M). I'd be surprised if the go 5 years on this as that has never been Polian's MO, more phony years at the end to fluff the perception and also allow for greater amortization along the road. Paying a year or two of dead cap once Peyton is gone because until he finds another QB if he can it isn't going to matter.
Assumptions like the $20M are always fueled by pre deal mediot hysteria. The top mark by average is $15M+ and the top mark by guarantee is $40M. Manning will top both. So will Tom only his bonus or guaranteed money will be split up a little differently. Both will be guaranteed at least half of their money whether directly or implicitly. Manning will likely see more up front, but their first two and three year averages likely will be within spitting distance of each other.
Even assuming a slight rollback in the cap to $120M in a new CBA and 5% increases going forward the cap would be $133M midway through 2010 extensions. Belichick is comfortable with a formula that limits the QB position to 10-12% of available cap. That would mean a deal for Tom that averages anywhere from $13-16M won't keep this FO or ownership up at night. Just fans whipped into needless angst by the media. Manning will get his $1M more per because Tom has other priorities and as he said when he did the last deal what's another million really mean at that level ($500K after taxes vs. what the team can do somewhere else on the roster with another $1M). The comfort percentage has always been a little higher in Indianapolis because that's the way they're built.
If both are extended this season, when the dust settles they will have averaged just under $11M (Brady) and just under $14M in their last deals. Tom's was signed early and therefore discounted, 4 years into an earlier 6 year $30M interim deal he signed after winning that first ring on a $385K rookie deal, while Mannings was signed as a UFA wearing the franchise tag at the end of his 6 year #1 rookie deal. This time the playing field is level as both are in the final year of their last deal. So the gap won't be as prominent. What guys like Eli and Rivers and Ben and shortly Brees clock in at will have as much to do with what Brady gets as what Manning gets. The market is what it is, Warner and Favre played for $12-13M this season...and top drafted QB's like Russell and Stafford are playing on rookie deals that guaranteed them $40M...
On a procedural note, it's too bad this thread got moved since it is pertinent to what the Patriots will do with Brady. I know it turned into a Colts vs. Pats pissing match, but the answer to that is to deal with the individuals who hijack threads either by reprimanding or removing them.
