Peyton Manning Increased Value Of Indianapolis Colts By $233 Million

Published: 7^th Mar 12 9:29 am

by Kris Hughes
Network Manager

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Peyton Manning Increased Value Of Indianapolis Colts By $233 Million

Brett Davis- US PRESSWIRE

There’s little doubt of the impact Peyton Manning had on the Indianapolis Colts organization.

Once the laughing stock of the NFL, the Colts have become– in spite of last season– one of the most well-respected and consistent franchises in professional football.

According to Forbes, the monetary impact of Manning’s time with the Colts was even greater than we could have imagined.

In 1998, when Peyton Manning was drafted, the projected team value of the Colts stood at $227 million, which was $47 million below the average value of NFL teams at the time. As it stands, the Colts are now worth $1.1 billion, which stands at $64 million above the 2012 team median.

Given inflation and other financial concerns, had the Colts grown at the same pace since Manning’s arrival in 1998, the team’s value would have increased by a total of $233 million.

Jim Irsay, therefore, is much more indebted to Peyton Manning than any of us have been led to believe throughout his contentious contract negotiations.

Sure, it was an obvious move for the Colts to release Manning today to avoid having to pay the $28 million bonus due to the first-ballot Hall of Famer on Friday due to his backloaded, incentive-laden contract, but don’t assume Manning had nothing left to give.

A business does not increase its value by $233 million unless it has at least one substantial driver to it’s operations.

In this case, Peyton Manning was the driver.

Good luck to Jim Irsay if he thinks drafting Andrew Luck will give him equal value.

Sometimes flash isn’t worth it’s weight in actual substance.

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