Peyton Manning Taking Paycut Might Be Best Move Veteran QB Can Make

Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos could soon enter a staredown.

The two sides have been together for several years now and have experienced varying levels of success. What they’ve yet to achieve, however, is a Super Bowl win, and they could be soon approaching a crossroads.

The marriage is in jeopardy, at least looking at it from the outside. Manning has been weighing his options (although he’s reportedly leaning toward returning), while the Broncos are trying to decide whether they even want to bring Manning back in 2015.

Ex-NFL linebacker and FootballByFootball.com founder Matt Chatham has an idea. Chatham wrote Wednesday that Manning could help the Broncos (and ultimately himself) by taking a big paycut leading into 2015. As it stands, the Broncos are looking at a $21.5 million cap hit for Manning in 2015, which is 15 percent of the projected salary cap. If Manning agreed to a cut, it would open up some financial flexibility for a Broncos team that needs improvements, not to mention having pending free agents like Demaryius Thomas and Julius Thomas.

“The decision to play for modest compensation and load the team up from the savings would be the most leader-y thing he has ever done,” Chatham wrote. “And the guys he plays with will love that message, rallying around him and a roster that’s guaranteed to be better for it.”