Peyton Manning's Meeting with Jim Irsay Won't Save Failing Relationship

Peyton Manning and Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay clearly aren't on the same page anymore. A meeting between the pair this week won't change that. If anything, it will only increase the odds of Manning playing for a different franchise next season.

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star provides some details about what's to come:

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The pair will sit and talk sometime in the next week and have a heart-to-heart. (…)

Irsay will tell him, “We want you to come back,’’ but quickly add the team can’t do it under the current contract. Right now, Manning is owed $28 million by March 8, and with his base salary, he would receive more than $35 million next season.

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First and foremost, all of Irsay's comments about the situation recently are simply an attempt to appease the Colts fanbase to avoid a public relations nightmare. He's smart enough to understand it can look like he's forcing the team's most popular player for the past decade out the door unceremoniously.

Everything the Colts have accomplished since Manning arrived shortly before the new millennium was due to his amazing ability to run an offense. No other quarterback in the NFL had more responsibility on a weekly basis than him, and more often than not he was up to the task.

So it's important for the team to make a seamless transition from Manning to, presumably, Andrew Luck without making fans unhappy. It's a tightrope walk to be sure, and Irsay's comments about wanting No. 18 back at a reduced rate illustrates that.

On the flip side, don't think Manning doesn't comprehend what's going on. There's no chance somebody as accomplished as him will take some type of massive pay cut just to stay in Indianapolis, especially with a star rookie about to enter the fray as well.

That's why the meeting has no chance of success. Both sides will enter it with different plans for the future and they will walk away with different plans for the future.

While many Colts fans are probably holding out hope for a storybook ending with a reconciliation between Manning and Irsay that leads to another Super Bowl, it just isn't realistic at this point. They just have to decide between a messy breakup or a professional one.

For the sake of everybody involved, hopefully it's the latter. Manning can continue his rehab while scouting out potential landing spots. The Colts can begin stitching Luck jerseys while hoping he can bring the same level of success that Manning did.

Hopefully the meeting can accelerate that process because it won't change anything else.