Peyton Manning, Broncos discussing contract restructure?

By Evan Massey | Feb 13, 2015

Jan 11, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) after their loss to the Indianapolis Colts in the 2014 AFC Divisional playoff football game at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Colts won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports /

The Denver Broncos and superstar quarterback Peyton Manning could be discussing a contract restructure that would free up cap room heading into the offseason.

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos are fresh off of yet another disappointing end to the season. They lost at home in the divisional round of the NFL postseason to the Indianapolis Colts, and there have been rumors all offseason long about whether or not Manning would retire.

It appears that he will be coming back for at least one more season, but that isn’t a done deal just yet. John Elway and the Broncos have quite a few needs heading into the offseason, and they need to bring back some of their other key players. Demaryius Thomas, Terrance Knight, and Julius Thomas are all hitting the open market, and Manning could be discussing a contract restructure to open up more money for Denver to bring them back.

League source thinks Peyton may be in talks to restructure contract to help Broncos keep the Thomases, Knighton, etc. Possible?
— Ross Tucker (@RossTuckerNFL) February 13, 2015

Denver has already made quite a few changes to their coaching staff following the season, canning John Fox and the majority of his staff.

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Looking ahead to 2015, Manning will be owed $19 million by the Broncos and his cap hit will be $21.5 million. Those are two huge numbers, and they will need to work something out to have room to do much of anything.

Obviously if Manning wants to come back, he is going to want to play for a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Cutting his pay to bring in more talent is something that Tom Brady has done multiple times for the New England Patriots, and it’s time for Manning to show how much of a team player he really is. He needs both Demaryius and Julius Thomas to play at the level that he has over the past couple of seasons.

During the 2014 regular season, Manning threw for 4,727 yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. Outside of the “Thomas brothers” he has Wes Welker and Emmanuel Sanders. Welker is strongly considering retirement, while Sanders is still going to be a star.

Taking the pay cut and bringing back talent is exactly what Manning needs to do if he wants to make another run at a Super Bowl. Denver has all of the pieces to make that run, but they need to bring back Demaryius Thomas and Knighton especially. There are a few other holes that they could fill with smaller free agents if they have some money to spend.

At 38 years of age, Manning is probably entering his last season in 2015 assuming he does end up coming back. He’ll play as long as he feels that he can play to his own expectations, but that was already in question this offseason.

Expect to see the two sides work out a contract restructure and for the Broncos to have some financial room to work with this offseason.

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