Peyton Manning recorded another career first Tuesday: He’s the first four-time MVP to get slapped with the franchise tag.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen broke the news first and it was quickly confirmed by Colts owner Jim Irsay on Twitter.
“We have placed the Franchise Tag on Peyton while we continue to negotiate a long term deal,” Irsay wrote, in a rare break from posting song lyrics.
Manning gets 120% of his 2010 salary, which is expected to be a little more than $23 million, according to Albert Breer. While $23 million sounds sweet, Manning doesn’t seem likely to ever sign the one-year deal.
Manning has an incredible amount of leverage and should get the richest contract in NFL history. He probably just has to wait for a new collective bargaining agreement before he gets it.
The Colts quarterback is the fifth player to get the tag on Tuesday, and the sixth overall. It’s quite a group: Michael Vick, Vincent Jackson, Haloti Ngata, Logan Mankins, and David Harris.