Peyton Manning Rumors: New Details Give Colts Greater Leverage in Contract Talks

Tracking which ball is in whose court in the ongoing detente between Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts can be a chore, though if you're keeping score at home, the "advantage" in the upcoming negotiations between these two parties clearly belongs to Jim Irsay's side.

Thanks in large part to the very same neck that instigated this most intriguing NFL drama.

As first reported by Sports Illustrated, Manning's neck has been under the knife four times in the past two years, not three times, as had been previously presumed. When exactly the phantom procedure occurred remains a mystery, though it's believed to have taken place some time between May 23, when Manning had a bulging disc operated on in Chicago, and Sept. 9, when Manning underwent a one-level cervical neck fusion in Los Angeles.

What's more, those same sources suggest there may be bone spurs forming next to where Manning's neck was last operated on, placing him in a precarious physical position that the Colts believe will require more surgery at some point down the road, even if Manning plays next season.

That leaves Irsay and Indy's revamped front office with plenty of ammunition in the chamber when they finally sit down with Manning to discuss his future in the Circle City face-to-face, rather than report-to-report or tweet-to-tweet. How the talks turn out, and where Manning ends up, all depends on how the Colts use that ammunition ahead of the March 8 deadline, at which point the team will owe Manning a $28 million bonus and the remainder of his five-year, $90 million contract will lock in.

Chances are, few teams—if any—would be willing to take a risk on Manning if his neck problems turn out to be chronic in nature. Despite the massive turnover in staff, the Colts are the only team intimately familiar with Manning's condition and, as such, reserve the power to disseminate that information, at their own profit or peril.

On the one hand, it's possible that this latest bit of information will render Manning unattractive to other teams. Such would leave him with only Irsay to negotiate and force him to accept whatever reworked, incentive-laden deal the Colts put on the table to essentially serve as a glorified tutor for Andrew Luck.

On the other hand, if the Colts are too heavy-handed, they risk alienating not only Manning, but the legions of loyal fans he's brought to the team by way of his stellar play over the course of his Hall of Fame career. That wouldn't bode particularly for Indy, which will likely be in for a tough rebuilding period, regardless of whether Manning stays or goes, and will need to fill Lucas Oil Stadium to keep that roll going.

Nor would the Colts be well-served to diminish Manning's trade value if there are still willing partners on the market. If Manning decides the bridge between him and the Colts has been too badly charred, he may choose to move on with his career elsewhere, leaving the team with little leverage in negotiations with potential suitors should Manning's injuries prove as dubious as they would appear on paper. 

A tricky situation, indeed, and one on which the future of the NFL may well ride.

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