Peyton Manning Rumors: Contract Negotiations with Colts Are Waste of Time

A little over three weeks remain before the Indianapolis Colts make a final decision on whether or not to give Peyton Manning his $28 million roster bonus.

But if we're being honest, we know that is never going to happen. That doesn't mean Peyton won't be in a Colts uniform, though.

Ashley Adamson of WishTV8 in Indianapolis writes:

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Much has been made about the impending meeting between the Colts owner and his star quarterback, but Irsay says those negotiations are already under way, and the lines of communication have always been open.

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How much truth there is to that remains to be seen though. According to a source at Pro Football Talk, if there are negotiations then "numbers aren’t being discussed."

If the rumor of negotiations between the two sides is true, though, that would have to involve an incentive-laden contract, as Irsay told the Indianapolis Star:

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We can make it work if he wants to be here. We’d be excited to have him back and finish his career with us. We want him to be able to make the choice. We would love to have him back here if he can get healthy and we can look at doing a contract that reflects the uncertainty of the...healing process with the regeneration of the nerve.

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Irsay basically put Peyton in a corner and told him to restructure his deal if he wants to stay.

The power move is actually the smartest thing Irsay has done since this squabble started.

The Colts cannot come out on the losing end here. If Peyton walks, then Peyton walks on his own terms. But if he returns, the Colts will have covered themselves in case of injury and keep a living legend in-house.

While loyalty and the opportunity to finish his career in Indianapolis is a driving force for Manning, he'd be wasting him time by restructuring to stay in Indy, though.

The Colts are not going to be a competitive team in 2012. Whether it be Peyton or Andrew Luck under center, this team simply has too many holes to fill and too much ground to make up.

Why Peyton would want to put himself in that position—even with chance to close his historic career in the place where it started—is beyond me.

His remaining favorite target, Reggie Wayne, might leave in free agency. His long-time center, Jeff Saturday, is considering retirement. The Colts have a new GM, Ryan Grigson and new head coach, Chuck Pagano, who will want to start their regime their way.

That can't possibly be a comfortable position for Peyton to be in, even if Wayne and Saturday stay on.

And Grigson and Pagano can't necessarily be happy, either. A returning Peyton doesn't give them much room to help the team long-term. They obviously know he's a short-term player and will still draft Luck at No. 1, but if the Colts don't win early with Peyton, they will both come under fire before long and can only hope they make the team competitive in Luck's first year under center.

The Colts aren't Peyton's Colts anymore. Negotiating a return isn't worth the hassle. 

These two sides are not only wasting each others' time, they're wasting ours as well.