The Economics of Peyton

by Hetfield on Jan 26, 2012 10:02 AM EST

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there about Irsay's Manning decision. Furthermore, I can't claim to understand the truth of the matter. First of all, everyone seems to discount the notion of paying Peyton his 3/28/12 bonus and then trading him. Is that because no other team would want to take Manning's $18 million cap hit? Or is it because Irsay will want to let Manning hit free agency so he can pick his destination? Second, while we could "afford" to keep both Manning and Luck, wouldn't Manning's salary prohibit the Colts from signing pretty much any FAs at all (including our own)? Third, is it possible for Manning to push back his bonus day to facilitate a draft day trade? Is a trade in which he signs a new contract with the new team at the time of the trade possible before or after 3/28? It seems like there would be some good trade value associated with Manning that we'd be leaving on the table by cutting him. Any thoughts on these matters would be appreciated.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.

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Trade not possible

The Colts can’t pay Peyton the $28mm bonus then trade him, because then the Colts would have to take a CAP hit for the $28mm bonus plus the prorated portion of his $20mm signing bonus last year. The new team only takes on the current salary. So it would be CAP chaos for the Colts to trade Peyton. Plus I don’t see Peyton agreeing to the route of a trade as this makes the team he is going to less competitive with all the draft choices they would have to give up. Peyton if healthy is looking at winning another super bowl not maximizing his income. Agreed if we pay both Peyton and Andrew we limit ourselves paying free agents.

by pwbbny on Jan 26, 2012 10:29 AM EST reply actions

Hmmmm...

I would have thought that when you traded a player, the new team would have to continue amortizing the signing bonus year after year (rather than the old team taking an immediate hit for the remainder of the bonus). You guys sure about that? ‘Cause if you are, I see no way in h3I1 that we could keep or trade Peyton – he’s gotta be released before March 28…

by Hetfield on Jan 27, 2012 7:53 AM EST up reply actions

Answers to the questions...

From what I’ve seen and read.

1) Paying the $28M bonus and then trading him would result in a $36M dead cap hit from the bonus as stated above. If you think it would be a detriment to the cap to have him then imagine paying $46M to not have him.

2) I have no idea what the cap number would be for Manning and Luck combined. I’ve heard figures that range from the mid $30s to more than $50M. I am not schooled enough in cap-ology to figure that.

3) It is not possible to push back the date of the bonus payment, per NFLPA rules. It’s not just about what Peyton is willing to do. As one of the faces of the NFL the NFLPA needs him to do what’s best for their clients (all NFL players).

Bleedin' Blue for as long as I can remember. Can you believe we get to be fans while our team has the greatest QB of all time?!?!?!

by emiller17 on Jan 26, 2012 10:49 AM EST reply actions

$50M in salary

but the cap numbers could be manipulated is what I have heard.

by AnotherWriter on Jan 26, 2012 3:08 PM EST up reply actions

I am kind of glad that they can not push back the deadline.

So we don’t have all this speculation for month and months.

One way or the other we would all like to know definitively which direction the franshise is going/

by JCub3d on Jan 26, 2012 11:48 AM EST reply actions

Curious?

I wonder how it is that other teams with HIGH salery QB’s seem to fill there teams with quality players and be competative while still staying under cap?

by shoospa on Jan 27, 2012 1:33 AM EST reply actions