Updated: July 31, 2011, 7:22 PM ET
Peyton Manning happy with lesser deal
 
ESPN.com news services

INDIANAPOLIS -- Peyton Manning didn't need the money, and he sure didn't want the title of being the NFL's highest-paid player if it meant losing his teammates.

Nope, all the four-time MVP really wanted was a few more shots at winning a Super Bowl.

On Sunday, Manning, armed with a new five-year, $90 million contract -- likely the last of his career, reported to the Indianapolis Colts' training camp with a sense of relief.

"You take a look at things and what's potentially going to happen, and I realized that I've got to have these guys around me," Manning said. "I've had that title, if you will, for the past seven years and I appreciate Bill (Polian) and Jim (Irsay) doing that seven years ago. I did everything I could to play like it, and I think there is an extra responsibility that comes with it. If they're going to pay you like the highest-paid player, you better play like it."

Manning has been worth every penny.

Since signing his last contract in 2004, the Colts have not missed the playoffs. Manning has won three MVP awards and led the Colts to two AFC titles, one Super Bowl crown. He now holds NFL records for most MVP Awards (four) and most regular-season wins in a decade (115).

With a resume like that, team owner Irsay and club vice chairman Polian were prepared to break the bank to keep Manning in Indy for the rest of his career.

But Manning said no thanks.

"Peyton called me on Thursday and we had a long talk. He made it clear that he didn't want to be the highest-paid player in the league, he wanted to put the best possible team on the field and he wanted to finish his career as an Indianapolis Colt," Polian said. "Over the weekend, we worked very hard to make that happen."

While the annual average salary of $18 million per year matches Tom Brady's record, Irsay described the deal as cap-friendly throughout the life of the contract.

Manning will get paid $69 million in the first three years and though his salary cap number this season will be $16 million, that's substantially less than the $23.1 million he would have gotten playing under the franchise tag.

The benefit of saving that money is already paying dividends.

Shortly after Manning agreed to his new deal, the Colts re-signed free agent running back Joseph Addai to a three-year, $14 million contract. Addai is Indy's best blocking back and a key part of keeping Manning upright against the blitz.

The team also redid the contract of right tackle Ryan Diem instead of cutting him.

In addition, the Colts have re-signed unrestricted free agents Melvin Bullitt, Bob Sanders' projected replacement, and kicker Adam Vinatieri to three-year deals. And Sunday, Indy announced it was bringing back defensive tackles Eric Foster and Antonio Johnson, and offensive linemen Kyle DeVan and Michael Toudouze. DeVan started at left guard the last two seasons, while Johnson started at defensive tackle.

"When I said he would be the highest-paid player in the league, it really was symbolic of the respect I have for him," Irsay said. "I told him the thing I love about him is that he hates losing as much as I do and Bill does. I'm happy it's done. He gave us a chance to sign Joseph Addai and the other guys."

Practice is scheduled to begin Monday without Manning, who was placed on the physically unable to perform list as he continues to rehab from neck surgery in May.

It was the strangest offseason in Manning's 14-year NFL career.

The 35-year-old quarterback had to contend with the longest work stoppage in league history, was part of an antitrust suit against the league and had his third offseason surgery since 2008. He got regular updates on the labor negotiations from NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and Pro Bowl center Jeff Saturday, and, Manning explained, his rehab might have progressed more quickly if the lockout rules hadn't prevented him from working with the team's training staff.

Manning also had to contend with questions about his comment of intentionally scoring poorly on the baseline concussion test, speculation that he wanted a special exemption to lift the franchise tag before the lockout was settled and more speculation that he wanted $25 million per year.

Kuharsky: Five More For Peyton
How much does Peyton Manning have left? ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky says if you listen to his words Sunday, it sounds like five years. Blog

Manning insisted there was no substance to the rumors.

"We met on Thursday, we talked Friday, we had the deal yesterday and I signed it about 15 minutes ago," Manning said.

A smattering of fans cheered when Manning rolled a suitcase on campus at Anderson University. Later, Manning walked across the street and signed autographs.

The biggest question now is when Manning will return to practice.

Polian said team doctors have told him the healing process should accelerate now that the nerve in Manning's neck is "coming back."

"There is no timetable with these types of injuries," Polian said. "It's not like a knee where you can say he'll be back in six weeks or something. You just don't know and to speculate would be foolish."

One source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that Manning has been rehabbing diligently but getting his nerves to regenerate completely, as well as strengthening his neck, shoulder and arm, is a process that doesn't always satisfy his lack of patience for healing.

This is not the first time Manning has missed the start of training camp. He sat out one week in 1998, his rookie season, while negotiating his first NFL contract and missed all of camp in 2008 when he had two surgeries for an infected bursa sac in his left knee. This time, unlike the other two, he showed up on reporting day.

But teammates don't seem to be concerned.

"Unfortunately, we've been down that road before, too," defensive captain Gary Brackett said. "If there's one guy you don't have to worry about rehabbing, that's Peyton."

Manning has started 227 consecutive regular-season and postseason games and he doesn't expect to start missing games now though he will do some light throwing this week.

However, sources told ESPN's Mortensen that Manning still has "quite a ways to go" to be ready for a full practice regimen, let alone play in a preseason game.

Not everyone benefited from Manning's deal.

The Colts released starting cornerback Kelvin Hayden in a cost-cutting move. Hayden returned an interception for the game-sealing touchdown in Indy's Super Bowl win and had a cap number of about $9 million this season.

And first-round pick Anthony Castonzo is the only draft pick who remains unsigned.

But Manning did his part to help move things along.

"I think for him, it's all about winning. He wants a winning legacy and he wants to go out a winner," Brackett said. "He could have taken as much money as he wanted, but he didn't do that because he wants to win."

Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As a practical matter, Manning’s new contract is fully guaranteed 
Posted by Mike Florio on July 31, 2011, 6:46 PM EDT

So Peyton Manning leverages his $23 million cap number into a $90 million contract, and the NFL media suddenly confuses him with Mother Teresa.

All we’ve heard and seen the past day or so is how Peyton Manning “took less.” Less than what? Less than what he wanted? Less than what he could have gotten elsewhere? Or less than what owner Jim Irsay had been publicly promising to pay him?

Of course, it’s the latter. Irsay recklessly had been saying for months that Manning’s next deal will preserve his status as the highest-paid player in the NFL. So with the bar set publicly, merely matching Tom Brady’s $18 million annual pay allows Manning to be painted by some in the media as a sure-fire candidate not just for Cantonization, but for canonization.

Though the deal has dropped Manning’s staggering $23 million cap number in 2011, giving Irsay some wiggle room to put players around Peyton, it’ll be interesting to see how much actual wiggle room the deal provides, both now and in every future year.

It also will be interesting to know, given evidence that the 35-year-old quarterback may be beginning to break down physically, just how much of the deal is guaranteed for injury and/or skill. That’s not to say Peyton will get to a point where he lacks a high degree of skill, but at some point between now and 2015 there’s a chance (not a certainty or a probability, but a chance) he no longer will possess skills that merit $18 million per year in pay.

As a practical matter, the full $90 million is guaranteed, as long as Peyton can pass a physical. Based on his comments to the media on Sunday, it’s clear that he fully intends to stick around for every snap — and thus for every dollar.

“I can’t tell you what an honor it is to go start to finish with the same organization here in Indianapolis,” Manning said, via the transcript distributed by the team. “That is something I have always wanted to do as a rookie coming out. Of course, you never know if that is possible but after yesterday it is official that I will be an Indianapolis Colt for my entire career. I will not play for another team. My last down of football will be with the Colts, which means a great deal to me. . . . I am going to finish up my career here, and that means a great deal to me. I am very relieved it is behind me now.”

In other words, Manning won’t be nudged out the door, like Brett Favre in Green Bay or Troy Aikman in Dallas. And Manning won’t face the same take-a-pay-cut-or-take-a-hike ultimatum that ended receiver Marvin Harrison’s career. By not backing the Colts into a corner regarding the total amount of the deal (after he essentially was backed into a corner to lower his sights by public comments from Irsay), Manning essentially has backed the Colts into a corner when it comes to keeping him around for the full duration of the contract.

Though, as Bengals owner Mike Brown reminded us all last week, an NFL contract ordinarily entails only a one-way commitment, the Colts have taken their vows with Manning, for better or worse.

Peyton has said it himself. He will not play for another team. And while it’s an admirable goal for any pro athlete, it’s an easy thing to say right now, given that Manning’s perceived act of charity has preemptively blocked any future effort by the Colts to begin the post-Peyton era before Peyton is ready for it to begin.

Admittedly, that’s a cynical view of the situation. But Manning is smart enough to know that the Colts masterfully used the confluence of a $120 million salary cap, a $23 million cap number, and a nervous fan base to keep him from doing what he did in 2004, when an $80 million salary cap didn’t stop him from taking a deal that paid out, on average, more than $14 million. Thus, Manning also is smart enough to ensure that the Colts will be on the hook for every last cent of his newest deal.