Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning was second in the NFL with 39 touchdown passes last season, fourth in the NFL with 4,727 passing yards last season and fourth in the NFL with a 101.5 passer rating last season. Those don’t sound like the numbers of a player who needs to take a pay cut.
But there’s increasing talk that that’s exactly what Manning should do. Plenty of people have floated it as a possibility, and a Denver Post column gets right to the point with the headline, “Peyton Manning should take a pay cut.”
Manning’s $19 million base salary for 2015 becomes fully guaranteed if he’s still on the roster on March 9, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the Broncos are urging Manning to consider re-doing his deal so that he’s a little more affordable.
It also wouldn’t be a bad idea for Manning. After all, this is a man who has already made hundreds of millions of dollars in salary and endorsements in his life. How much more money does he really need? And if taking a pay cut makes it easier for the Broncos to keep free agent receiver Demaryius Thomas and free agent tight end Julius thomas, isn’t that worth it for him? At this point in his life, Manning would surely trade $10 million for another Super Bowl ring. If reducing his salary to $9 million helps the Broncos win a Super Bowl, that might be a deal Manning is willing to make.
At the same time, it’s hard to go to a veteran who has accomplished everything Manning has accomplished and ask him to take less money than he’s contractually owed. It’s a delicate dance for the Broncos if they’re going to try to bring Manning back for less money.
The ball is now in the Broncos’ court, and John Elway seems to want Manning back with the Broncos. The question is whether Elway wants Manning back for less than $19 million, and whether Manning is prepared to take less than $19 million.