Recap: The Manning Effect

It is incredible and yet very credible all the commotion that four time regular season MVP Peyton Manning created among teams ever since the Colts released him. Though he is now thirty six years old and had four neck surgeries last year, he is still a very desirable player to have on a NFL roster, based on the interest he received from so many teams up until he decided to play for the Denver Broncos.

But regardless of whether the Broncos are a good pick by Manning, or if he should have retired as a Colt, there is no doubt that the Broncos of John Elway have demonstrated to have a great deal of faith in whatever Manning may have left in the tank by offering him a contract that made him the highest paid player in the history of the game.

In addition to it, this off-season Manning has shown the power that one player has over so many others by creating a ripple effect on numerous teams' plans and players' contracts... especially the QBs of the league.

After Manning signed up for the Broncos, the teams that were most interested in him had to take drastic measures and go in a direction. For instance, the 49ers jeopardized their relationship with their 2011-2012 starting QB Alex Smith when he learned that the team was after Manning. The Dolphins and Cardinals were rejected by Manning, and consequently they had to sign QB Garrard, who missed all last year due to back surgery (Dolphins), and resigned QB Kolb (Cardinals). Also, the Titans were big contenders to sign Manning, but failed to do so, which gave no better option to the team than to resign QB Hasselbeck one more year. Lastly, the Seahawks and Jets were dismissed by Manning early in the race, which allowed the Seahawks to move fast and sign QB Flynn (very good and smart move by them. Personally, I believe Flynn will help the team improve tremendously), and made the Jets decide to resign QB Sanchez for three more years. In addition, the Jets landed last year's Broncos QB sensation Tim Tebow, who was traded to New York a couple of days after Manning signed for the Broncos.

All these moves occurred due to the circumstances of last year and the 2012 NFL draft. If Manning had not been out last season, the Colts had not had a terrible back up QB, or the Colts had won at least one more game, they would have not been granted the first draft pick of the 2012, and consequently, senior Stanford QB Andrew Luck would have never been in the picture for the Colts.

As for Manning, undoubtedly he will be a first ballot round hall of famer (unless he crashes his car into a tree after a fight with his wife and mistresses start popping out of everywhere). But this story goes on to show the value of the reputation of a player, the influence of the position that you play on the field, the importance of circumstances, and the determination of a team and GM to take risks in order for the team to be in a better situation and have a successful run to win the Super Bowl as soon as possible.

- Y gracias por no fumar!

Peyton Manning during his presentation with the Denver Broncos.
 Picture from sportsillustrated.cnn.com