Polian Says No Contract Extensions for Veterans…Except for Peyton

Coming off a 14-2 record, a Super Bowl appearance, and a fourth Most Valuable Player award for quarterback Peyton Manning , the Colts seem to have little to worry about.

Indianapolis has made two trips to the Super Bowl in the last four years and have won 12, 13, 12, and 14 games in those years. They have been the model of consistency in the National Football League for more than a decade winning 128 games since 1999, an average of 11.6 wins a season.

But on the horizon, contract disputes could threaten that consistency in Indianapolis with two prominent players looking for new contracts : wide receiver Reggie Wayne and pass rusher Robert Mathis .  Both have two years remaining on their current deals.

Wayne wants a contract extension after a Pro Bowl season, recording 100 receptions for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns.  He restructured his contract in April of 2009 to free up cap space for the Colts and will make $5.74 million in 2010. Wayne is fully expected to take part in training camp later this summer, but there could be concerns about hampering his play.

Mathis also made the Pro Bowl in 2009 after a respectable 37 tackles, five forced fumbles and 9.5 sacks. Wayne, 31, and Mathis, 29, are at ages where most players get their last long-term contracts. They both have legitimate cases for extensions and have never had any character issues.

Colts’ president and general manager Bill Polian recently told Sporting News that Wayne and Mathis should not intend to holdout because neither will get a contract extension. Indy will not sign vets to long-term contracts without a Collective Bargaining Agreement in place. Without a CBA, the organization does not know how the contracts would affect the cap in future years.

“We’re not in a regular environment, that’s the problem,” Polian told ESPN on June 5. “I’ve spoken to both of their agents, and I certainly respect both men and they make a good case. But the problem is we don’t have a system, and without a system you don’t know where contracts might or might not fit.”

In a normal year these two would more than likely receive new contracts but apparently every rule has an exception . Peyton Manning’s contract is technically up in 2010 because he met playing time incentives voiding the last two years of his previous contract. Manning does not fall under Polian's "no contract extensions" umbrella for obvious reasons. He is one of the league’s best and the face of the Indianapolis franchise. No one is questioning that.

But Polian’s star treatment could rub Wayne and Mathis the wrong way and influence the Pro Bowlers’ play come September. Wayne and Mathis, like Texans-dram?urn=nfl,241792">Andre Johnson and Chris Johnson have done more than enough to deserve extensions. In a league where the teams can cut players at a moment's notice or a career ending knee injury is just around the corner, players who play the game the right way on and off the field deserve to be paid at market’s value.