Bill Polian was at a charity golfing event the other day for one of the players he helped make famous in Buffalo, Jim Kelly. At the event, someone asked him about Peyton Manning's contract. From National Football Post:
Polian said during charity golf tournament he anticipates a contract being finalized sometime between now and the end of the season. Manning is heading into the final year of his contract.
Well, apparently, this pretty generic statement was really big news. Last night, "Peyton Manning" was the number one trending topic for Yahoo's search engine. This morning, he's at at #6, just ahead of The Bachelorette and Killer Whales, but trailing Morgan Freeman and his love of worm holes.
Personally, I don't understand why this news is somehow that big of a deal. Maybe the news day was just that slow, which speaks volumes regarding the state of Major League Baseball. Last night, there was no NBA Finals, no NHL Finals, and the World Cup hasn't begun yet. However, even though a slew of MLB games were happening, the main thing everyone was yappin' about was Peyton Manning, who is not scheduled to throw a football in a meaningful game for another three months.
Yep, football rules the USA, and all other sports are just renting.
When the Colts finalize Manning's deal, it will make him the highest paid player in NFL history. This deal is top priority, which is why the contract bitching by Robert Mathis and Reggie Wayne is just so obviously stupid it turns my stomach. By any measure of "worth" we go by, Peyton Manning is clearly underpaid. He makes less money than his friggin brother, Eli Manning, and last I checked Eli has never won an NFL MVP award; let alone four!
Yet, unlike Reggie and Robert, Peyton attended OTAs and mini-camp just like everyone else. And that, my friends, is why Peyton is Peyton.