What is the worth of the franchise?
For many teams across the league the top priority is to get the new collective bargaining agreement worked out, but after that it is to sign the top players on each team. If you think about it the franchise tags can help but if you think about how much players are paid they could hurt a lot more. Julius Peppers formerly of the Panthers was franchised and was making an incredible 16.7 million dollars for the season that is 1 million dollars per game. Now understand that Peppers is an amazing defensive end but is he worth that much per game? I say all that to say this, how much more is a four time MVP worth? Now this is a man that is the face of your franchise and he has really redefined the position of quarterback with his study of the game? For the Colts Peyton Manning has really taken the team to the next level in the NFL, with a Super Bowl win under his belt, he has helped the Colts to the post season for many consecutive years.
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If we look at other players around the league there is Tom Brady quarterback for the New England Patriots who signed a 5-year 78.5 million dollar contract with 48.5 million guaranteed, Eli Manning quarterback for the New York Giants who signed a 7-year 106.9 million dollar contract with 35 million guaranteed and the list goes on and on. If we look at these two quarterbacks we see #1) how ridiculous sports contracts have gotten and #2) how much owners and GM’s want to invest in what they believe are franchise players. Fact is that the big names and big stars fill the seats and we all know that, when a team is winning the fans win, the owners win and anyone who is connected to the team wins. So to you the fan what is the franchise worth? As I see it in this day and age they are worth a lot, and for me I know that Peyton Manning could have the richest contract in NFL history and it is well deserved. Now for many of you, I would hear ‘what about championships?’ and I would reply in order to make a run at championships key parts must be in place and there is no greater key part than that of a field commander that is not only a coach but is also your best player. The truth is statistics do not lie:
-5 consecutive years of 4,000+ yards passing
-Each season in the league with 25+ passing touchdowns
-Four MVP seasons
-8 consecutive years of a passer rating of 90+
-Colts 9 consecutive playoff appearances
-Colts 7 of last 8 AFC South division titles
Peyton Manning has been and will be the key element for the Indianapolis Colts at least for a few more years when the deal gets done, it is not a question of if but when it gets done. Manning will no doubt pass Favre on many of the passing stats in the NFL record book if he stays healthy and the Colts want him to do that in an Indianapolis uniform. So I ask you how much is a franchise player worth? For the Indianapolis Colts hopefully it’s worth a few more championships and for Manning a few more possible MVP’s.
By Sam Adams
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer