Should The Pats and Colts Break The Bank For Brady and Manning?

When speaking of the greatest players in the NFL today, there is no way either Tom Brady or Peyton Manning can be left out of the conversation. Love them, or hate them, no one can argue they are future first ballot Hall of Fame entrants.

Peyton Manning is on pace to earn most of the individual records for quarterbacks, while Tom Brady is compared to Joe Montana as the best ever.

Both Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have one year remaining on their current contract, meaning after NEXT season, if they are not resigned by the Colts and Patriots, respectfully, they will become unrestricted free agents.

There is no way that is going to happen.

Both Brady and Manning are going to be their teams top priority this off season. With the large contracts being handed out to the class of 2004, Adam Schefter reports that both Manning and Brady are set to sign contracts in excess of $16.25 million per year.

The question is not, "are they worth the money?" My question is how long will they be worth the money?

Peyton Manning was born on Mar. 4, 1976, which means he will be 35 when his contract is set to expire in 2012.

Tom Brady was born on Aug. 3, 1977, which means he will be 34 when his contract expires.

Should either of these two men demand a contract that lasts six years, it will run until after they turn 40.

I know the largest argument will be: Look at Brett Favre.

Do either Colts or Patriots fans believe that their guy will be playing at the level of Favre when they turn 40? Manning and Brady are not the kind of player that Favre is.

Not that they are less good—in their prime years, I would take Manning and Brady over Favre, but they are not the gun slinger that Favre is, and their game relies strictly on the strength of their arms, and their ability to read the defenses.

Once their arm strength begins to diminish, which normally starts to happen around 34-35, they are not going to have the scrambling ability that Favre does have.

For argument sake, lets say that each of them has two years of playing at their current level on their new contract (that means for three more years).

What happens then? You are still on the hook for four more years, at over $16 million dollars per, which translates to $65 million dollars less to spend on other players.

The reality is, to keep these players once they are past their prime, could seriously hinder the chances of success of their current teams, neither of which has had a "bad" season since they have been members of their teams.

So, my question to Colts and Pats fans, what do you want to do with your QB?

Keep them until they are no longer any good, and hurts your teams cap and your teams performance, or let them walk away for a first-round pick after next year?