ESPN NFL Business Analyst Andrew Brandt reports that the cost of Colts keeping QB Peyton and draft Andrew Luck with the #1 overall pick would be $50.5 million.
Manning has a $28 million option as well as a $7.4 million base salary for 2012 which is a staggering amount of money but the team can’t be shocked by this as they agreed to the deal last year. As for the #1 pick, it’s slotted at $15.1 million for 2012.
If the Colts are set on drafting the next quarterback of the future then there’s really no way that they can afford to pay Manning that kind of money. Peyton has already said that he’s unwilling to renegotiate a new contract with the Colts which will force the team to make a tough decision without knowing for sure whether or not Manning will be able to play again. Indy has some key free agents this year like Robert Mathis and Reggie Wayne to address so allocating over $50 million to the quarterback position would not allow them to add the necessary talent to their roster.
Tough decisions lie ahead in Indy.
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