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Last night the Denver Broncos and quarterback Peyton Manning agreed to a four-million-dollar pay cut and will be returning to the Denver Broncos in 2015 pending a physical. If/when Manning passes that physical this morning the Broncos will officially announce the deal.
When news dropped that Manning was returning for 2015, many of him teammates were obviously excited about playing one more season with the future Hall of Famer.
@CjAndersonRB9's response to Manning news: "I am glad to have him back. Now let's win a bowl." http://t.co/XMXdWHzOv8
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) March 5, 2015
Running back C.J. Anderson:
"It means a lot - 18 is a worker and a great leader," Pro Bowl running back C.J. Anderson said. "I am glad to have him back. Now let's win a bowl."
Linebacker Brandon Marshall:
"I am excited. And I know other players appreciate that he was willing to take a paycut. It allows other players to possibly get paid a little more."
Cornerback Chris Harris Jr.:
"I'm just really glad to have him back."
Linebacker Von Miller:
"There's still so much he can do, so many wonderful things he can do for the Denver Broncos," linebacker Von Miller said recently. "We can win a championship with Peyton. I think that's the only thing that matters."
Pay cut to motivate Manning?:
Manning did take a four million dollar pay cut but, he can earn that four million dollars back if the Broncos can do two not so simple things. Manning will earn 2 million dollars back if the Broncos win the AFC Championship game, and another 2 million if the Broncos win the Super Bowl.
This means the Broncos would have to win at least one playoff game before Manning could even get the chance to earn back half of the four million dollars he is giving up.
This has sparked some to question whether or not John Elway deliberately did this to give Manning some extra motivation.
Maybe pissing off Manning was part of Elway's plan. Then you give him incentive to get the cash you ripped from him back with SB win.
— Christopher Hansen (@ChrisHansenNFL) March 5, 2015
Usually, these type of incentives are turned into situations that are often not reached. Obviously I do not think Elway is doing that here, so it makes some sense that Elway is trying to motivate Manning.
I for one hope Manning earns back every penny next season.
Horse Tracks:
- The Pittsburgh Steelers plan on moving on from longtime safety Troy Polamalu this offseason.
- The Buffalo Bills have agreed to trade for Minnesota Vikings quarterback Matt Cassel.
- The New Orlean Saints have cut running back Pierre Thomas.
- The Atlanta Falcons are shopping linebacker Curtis Lofton. They will release him if they cannot find a trade partner.
- The Washington Redskins plan on keeping quarterback Kirk Cousins around for competition with RG3.
- Running back Adrian Peterson meets with the Vikings and had "great dialogue" with them.
- Former Denver Broncos tight end Nate Jackson wants the NFL to allow marijuana use.
- The Dallas Cowboys have signed veteran linebacker Keith Rivers.