Peyton Manning vs. Jim Irsay: Who Is Winning PR War?

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay and four-time MVP quarterback Peyton Manning have been locked in a public relations war for weeks now, and at this point, I think it is time to declare a winner. 

While Irsay has been busily tweeting about everything related to the Manning saga, Peyton has hunkered down and allowed Irsay just enough rope to hang himself. The Manning media plan has won, hands down, as the Colts' owner has come across as a smug jerk who seems to have to one-up every piece of news that comes out about his star quarterback.

A perfect example of that happened just two weeks ago when news leaked that Manning had been cleared to resume playing in the NFL again by his two doctors. Irsay followed that up not two hours later with a tweet that claimed Manning had not been cleared by the Colts, thereby implying that the quarterback was not, in fact, healthy.

The fact that Irsay felt it necessary to tweet out that jab at 1:25 a.m. on a Thursday night/Friday morning says all you need to know about his mindset. He refuses to allow any positive press about Manning to go unanswered. 

It is clear that the relationship between Irsay has deteriorated. Yesterday's announcement that the Colts won't pay Manning $28 million bonus he is due on March 8, but that the team still wants him back, is more evidence of that. Even an idiot can see through what Indianapolis' owner was doing by that move.

Irsay claims he wants Manning to make the call on his future. But at the same time, he's saying that he won't pay the 35-year-old the money he is due under a contract he signed just a few months ago. He is trying to turn things around on Manning and make him look like the bad guy if he opts to play elsewhere.

While it's a sly move, Manning comes away looking golden by not responding to it, simply because anyone should be able to see through what Irsay's real intentions are. The quarterback may be willing to restructure his deal, but in reality, the two sides are unlikely to ever come to an agreement and Manning will be gone next season.

Everything Irsay has done since the end of the regular season has pushed the best player in his franchise's history away. And that just keeps continuing. Manning looks like the good guy here, while Irsay looks terrible.