By all accounts, Indianapolis’ first Super Bowl was a resounding success. From all the things the host committee could control (hotels, media, fans, transportation), to even those it couldn’t (the weather), it was a seamless process that made last year’s Super Bowl in Dallas seem more like Thunderdome.
If there was one blemish — albeit a tiny one — it was the after-school-special-style drama that played out between Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and team owner Jim Irsay. Whether the leaks about Manning’s health were planned or not (we think they were), the fact remains: Peyton’s neck injury is serious enough to raise questions about his future in Indy, and it’s to the point where just about everybody figures he’ll be playing elsewhere in 2012 (or whenever he’s healthy).
Except that Irsay now seems amenable to keeping Peyton in Indy. (Seriously, we’re almost at the point where Manning and the Colts are like that insane couple you know who break up every few months in a spectacularly public spectacle only to get back together days later to try to make it work. And because they really, really love each other.)
“We can make it work if he wants to be here,’’ Irsay told the Indianapolis Star‘s Mike Chappell Tuesday. “We’d be excited to have him back and finish his career with us.
“I 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.’’
Manning, 35, missed the 2011 season while he recovered from multiple neck surgeries. The Colts went 2-14, Irsay subsequently cleaned house, and now, with a new front office, coaching staff and the first overall pick, looks to rebuild a franchise that Peyton led to one championship, 11 playoff appearances, eight 12-plus-win seasons, and a 141-67 record.
“There’s no question it can be worked out if he wants to be here,’’ Irsay, who has concerns over Manning’s long-term health, told the Star. “It can work if he wants to come back and can get back to being the old Peyton.’’
Of course, this won’t preclude the Colts from taking a quarterback with that top pick. And it also means that Manning, should he want to stay, won’t be in line for the $28 million bonus that’s due March 8. Irsay expects to meet with Peyton in the next week, and as Chappell notes, the $28 million bonus activates the final four years and $90 million of his current contract.
Courtesy Of CBSSPORTS.COM
