It is almost a foregone conclusion that former Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck will become a member of the Indianapolis Colts after the 2012 NFL Draft. The Colts hold the first pick and Luck is the best quarterback prospect to come around in nearly a decade.
There is one problem, though. Sure people will wonder if Manning and Luck could co-exist, but the bigger question is could the Colts afford to keep bother signal-callers on their roster?
Manning is due to have a $28 million roster bonus in March and his base salary for 2012 would be $7.4 million. Just with those figures, Manning would account for $35.4 million of the team’s salary cap. If they take Luck, his bonus and base salary combined would come out to around $15.1 million.
Does it really make sense to tie up over $50 million in two guys at the same position? Absolutely not.
I know Colts fans don’t want to hear it, but the right move is to part ways with Manning. The move saves the Colts a ton of money and allows them to start building for the future immediately and not postpone the success down the road. Business wide, this is the slam dunk move.
It appears that Colts owner Jim Irsay has come to this realization. He has cleaned house and rid the organization of most of Manning’s most loyal supporters. Has Irsay come to his senses? Will the Colts move on and start the future now? We will know no later than March.
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