"How much money does he need?!"

I am going to be very curious how big of a deal he can still command.

I have much less of a problem with NFL players holding out for more money than I do with baseball, NBA and NHL players.

If the contract isn't guaranteed then it should go both ways.

 

=

 

The "average fan" (to say nothing of the average writer) knows nothing whatsoever about the economics of sports.

Here are three facts:

1) Nobody ever paid a nickel to watch an owner own.

2) Whatever money doesn't get paid to the athlete goes straight into the pockets of the owner.

3) Athlete salaries have nothing to do with ticket prices. The owners want you to believe they do, but they don't.

 

The weird thing about the Manning contract is that it was signed months after he had neck surgery. You would have thought the Colts might have, um, had him checked out, before they finalized the deal.

 

The average fan and journalist know nothing about business or economics, sports or otherwise.
Player salaries are part of operating cost, and they are the largest single aspect of operating cost. They affect everything.
I'm not pro-owner or anti-owner, but owners and players should, and do, make money. Nothing wrong with that.

Fans don't think of things in terms of business, even fans with an understanding of business. If they were logical, they wouldn't be fans.
They feel connected to Manning and want him to stay, but they also want their team to be relevant for the next 10-15 years.
It's not logical. It's emotional. They're fans.

 

Manning expressly did not want to pass a physical. So as part of the negotiation to avoid that, he agreed to the $28 million option bonus after the first year instead of a massive upfront signing bonus.

It seemed like such a small technicality at the time.

 

As for the stadium and such, I don't doubt that they are ultimately money losers for the taxpayers, but I do think Indianapolis did itself a solid based on what I've heard about Super Bowl week. The first thing I thought of before last week when I heard about the city was...nothing.

 

The people I know who were there seemed as impressed with Indy as they were irate with Dallas a year ago.

I would love it if Indy got into the regular rotation. The downtown area is setup perfectly for it and I would argue that only New Orleans has a better setup.

 

Mizzou, many years ago Dick "Hoops" Weiss made the same point about the Final Four. He said Indy and New Orleans should alternate as Final Four sites and everybody else should be happy to hold regionals. Downtown amenities and the locals' efforts as hosts set those two apart.

 

Back to the topic, this line of thinking drives me nuts too. It's one thing for, say Pujols, to choose to take a little less to stay with the Cards, but to EXPECT him to do that? Ridiculous. Why would anyone leave $5 million on the table if they were worth that, according to the market? I wouldn't think Manning was an idiot if he chose to do that, but he deserves whatever teams are willing to pay. It's no different than saying that my sports editor shouldn't jump at that ESPN job and the raise that comes with it out of loyalty to our department. OK, maybe it's a bit different, and loyalty in the news business isn't a good analogy, but these guys should earn whatever the market is willing to pay. IMO, these types of comments stem from jealousy and/or rabid fandom.

 

That would be classic. Get the Mayflower vans, the Colt's "franchise" is moving back to Baltimore.