Peyton Manning: New 5-Year Contract Deadlines Manning’s Historic Career

July 30, 2011   ·   Wes O'Donnell   ·   Jump to comments

Peyton Manning has signed a new five-year, $90 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts. The selfless quarterback took less money to allow his team some flexibility under the salary cap, but I only have eyes for one number: 40.

Forty is exactly how old Peyton Manning will be when this deal runs out. Forty, more likely than not, is the age that Peyton Manning will retire from the National Football League. Forty may very well be the amount of NFL records Manning holds when his career is finally over.

This is great news for the Indianapolis Colts, and Manning’s selfless ways give the organization more money to make other necessary moves for the 2011 season. Right now, even with Manning, this team still has a long way to go before assuring themselves the AFC South again, but it does start with their quarterback.

But putting the 2011 season on hold, we need to realize the magnitude of what the next five years mean for this franchise.

Manning has been under center since Week 1 of the 1998 season and has not missed a game since. The former No. 1 overall pick was already rated the No. 8 player in NFL history by NFL.com in 2009, is the Colts’ all-time leader in wins and passing touchdowns, attempts, completions and yards and is the fastest in NFL history to reach 50,000 passing yards as well as completion Nos. 1,000 through 4,000.

Long story short, without getting into the rest of his NFL records, it is highly likely that Manning will own every record in the book when his career is over. If he stays on his career pace, he’ll pass Brett Favre in career completions, passing yards and touchdown passes; he should only fall short of Favre in career attempts.

By the time Manning is 40 years old, he’ll have played 18 seasons in the NFL, and the Colts will have to be prepared for the fallout of his retirement. The likely move, if executed with the right player, will have to model the Green Bay Packers‘ use of Aaron Rodgers, except without the Favre drama from Manning.

That means, at an opportune time in the next five years, we should expect to see the Indianapolis Colts use a first or second round draft pick on the quarterback they think will be their next Peyton Manning.

Rodgers sat the bench three full years before becoming the full-time starter in Green Bay and, while I can hardly speculate five years of draft prospects right now, a brief look at the 2014 class shows some talent.

Current players at the collegiate level that could be the future in Indianapolis include Tyler Bray of Tennessee, Jake Heaps of BYU and Aaron Murray of Georgia.

All three are early starters at major programs in the country, have the potential to be first or second-round picks and will be draft eligible around the time the Colts start looking. Bray obviously draws the most attention right now, and it is impossible to deny the possible thought of replacing Manning with another Volunteer.

Heaps is on the verge of becoming a household name from a known quarterback school, and Murray could become a superstar this very season.

Getting back though, Colts fans should be happy today, but the organization knows full well that five year’s time means it will soon be time to find another franchise quarterback.

It won’t be easy, it won’t be fun, but one of these days No. 18 is going to find himself on the sidelines and the Colts need to be ready when that day comes.

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