The Indianapolis Colts are on the verge of one of the most important offseason decisions in NFL history. Do they keep legendary quarterback Peyton Manning or let him go?
Peyton missed all of last season due to a serious neck injury. Three surgeries later, it appears Manning may be ready to go for the 2012 season but even that much is unclear. He has been medically cleared to play and has reportedly been making great strides in his comeback.
To add to the controversy, the Colts finished dead last this season and have obtained the number one pick in April's draft.
You would assume the Colts could upgrade at another position, Peyton will come back, and they will once again emerge as one of the best teams in the NFL behind one of the best quarterbacks in football history.
But things are a little more complicated than that for Colts' president Jim Irsay.
For starters, the Colts will owe Peyton a $28 million bonus on March 8. A bonus that they are reluctant to pay, seeing as how it is unclear whether Peyton will even be able to resume his NFL career.
Manning proved his worth to the Colts more than ever this past season when he didn't play and the Colts only won two games.
To add to the turmoil, this year's NFL draft provides what many scouts consider one of the best quarterbacks to ever come out of college, Stanford's Andrew Luck.
ESPN NFL draft expert Mel Kiper has been covering the draft for 28 years now. He was quoted saying, "Luck is the highest rated quarterback to enter the draft in the last 35 years." So you would think the Colts' decision would be easy, right?
Release an injury-rattled veteran quarterback that is owed $28 million and draft the next savior of NFL quarterbacks.
But, football isn't that simple. Peyton Manning was the LeBron James of Indianapolis, except he actually won them a ring. Peyton is considered to have single handedly revived the Colts' franchise after their move from Baltimore to Indianapolis.
He won 10 or more games in 11 of his 13 years with Indy. The NFL is a business, but at some point you have to feel a sort of moral obligation to a player, right?
Luck could only benefit from learning on the bench behind arguably the most intelligent quarterback of all time if Peyton was to return fully healthy.
Remember when the Packers drafted Aaron Rodgers and let him ride the pine for three seasons behind NFL legend Brett Favre? That seemed to turn out fairly well for them.
But who is to say Andrew Luck will pan out like everyone expects?
Sure, he is considered to be the most can't-miss prospect of the last quarter century, but the NFL draft is as big of a crapshoot as any sport.
Jamarcus Russell, David Carr, and Tim Couch were all number one overall picks in the last decade or so and look how they turned out. Is it likely Luck will end up like these first pick duds? Probably not, but you certainly can't rule it out completely.
The transition from a college quarterback to an NFL quarterback is the toughest in all of sports and nothing is a guarantee.
Peyton likely has only three or four more seasons left in him, so is $28 million worth that when you could draft what most consider will be the next Peyton Manning?
The Colts have to make a business decision. The clock is ticking and they have about two weeks to decide to pay up or saddle up without Manning.
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