Denver Broncos Add Some Insurance to Peyton Manning's Contract

If the first thing you thought when you heard Peyton Manning was restructuring his contract was that the QB must have hurt his neck again or something you are not alone. It was certainly the first thing that came to my mind since the offense is already loaded and the team doesn't need to free up any cap space.

While, like me, you would not be right, you would not be entirely wrong either.

Eli is only about this tall!

The team and Peyton are making an adjustment to his contract because of his neck, but not because anything new has happened. An insurance clause has been added that protects the team from having to dish out $20 million to Peyton should he get injured next season and not be able to play in 2014.

The way that Peyton's deal is structured, since he was on the roster when the 2013 season officially began in March his $20 million salary for the '14 season became guaranteed.

You have to wonder why this sort of thing was not in his contract to begin with. Peyton is no spring chicken. Forget his injury history. The fact that he's old for a pro football player should have told the team they need to have some protection in his contract.

Then there is his injury history. No would have faulted Peyton had he retired following his fourth neck surgery. Four surgeries alone is cause for a really big red flag, but four on his neck? There must have been some serious Peyton-envy going on for the Broncos not to put some safeguards in his initial contract.

Either that or his agent is a freaking evil genius.

Anyway...the safeguard is there now, and should the worst happen to Peyton the team will not be on the hook for $20 million in '14.

[USAToday]