Reggie Wayne: Peyton Manning Will Own an NFL Team, Become 'Modern Jerry Jones'

Former Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Reggie Wayne doesn't envision Peyton Manning entering the NFL front-office ranks unless his one-time teammate has complete autonomy.

During an appearance on NFL Network, Wayne speculated that Manning would prefer to own a team and become a "new, modern Jerry Jones," where he is both the owner and general manager.

Wayne addressed the most obvious hurdle in that plan.

The starting point to buy a team is likely $2.275 billion at minimum since that's how much David Tepper spent to purchase the Carolina Panthers in July 2018. According to Forbes' Kurt Badenhausen, Manning had earned a total of $400 million by the time he retired after the 2015 season.

Even assuming Manning has padded his bank account further in retirement, he's probably still well short of the amount required to make a serious bid for an NFL team. 

To that issue, Wayne said Manning could seek investors such as his dad Archie and brother Eli to join him.

While owning a team is a long shot for Manning, he'd likely have no trouble landing a front-office role.

CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reported in November 2017 that Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam was interested in hiring the future Hall of Famer in "a prominent team president/top executive role."

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported last Friday the New York Jets had thrown around Manning as a replacement for general manager Mike Maccagnan. Adam Schefter of ESPN threw cold water on that rumor Monday, reporting that Manning won't take New York's GM job.