Peyton Manning is a Free Agent

It is a not commonly known fact that in many cases the contracts that football players sign are not worth much. In baseball if a player has a 4 year contract it is a 4 year contract. There is no breaking it. In the NFL if for some reason a player's performance does not live up to a standard, or sometimes for strictly financial reasons a player, even with a contract can be cut.

In essence in the NFL a contract states what a player will be paid to play should that team still desire to employ that player. Sometimes a player having an expensive contract will be a disadvantage should he wish to stay with that team.

Peyton Manning, the longtime quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts has had significant injuries over the last few years, missing this last season with two neck surgeries. Certainly there is a danger that he will never be the same and that he might be one hit away from retirement.

Manning's 18 million dollar per year contract was enough to think about, but the fact that as of Thursday of this week he would be eligible for a roster bonus of 28 million dollars made it a certainty he would be cut. Couple that with the Colts having the first draft pick, and a franchise quarterback such as Andrew Luck coming out for the draft this year and the choice becomes even easier. The Colts ownership says that it is not about the money but at 46 million being the investment needed for the next year of his service one must take that with a grain of salt.

Peyton will be fine. In fact he might end up better off, with a stronger team and more liklihood for success in his final year. The Colts acted respnsibily. In short there is no villian in this story. Hopefully all will move forward with success.

Still one must be sad that the days of athletes finishing the career with the teams that they have their best years with are fading. Financial reasons are a big part of that. Brett Favre and Peyton Manning both took different courses in leaving their teams that they had become synonmous with but the fact that neither could end their careers in Green Bay and Indianapolis respectively is a bit sad.