Indianapolis Colts

Bottom line is we probably won't see a new Manning contract until we see a new collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA expire March 2011, which means it's unlikely the Colts jerseys will have Manning locked-up for the rest of his NFL career this season.

Bill Polian helped craft the salary cap rules in the 1990s, and he has made it known that he wants the salary cap to return, and from a fan's perspective I agree with him. The lack of overall, balanced competition in leagues like the MLB and the "soft cap" silliness of the NBA show us what the future of the NFL could be without a cap. Revenue sharing is also a vital piece of that puzzle, a piece that small markets like the Colts rely on to remain competitive against large markets like New York, Dallas, and San Francisco.

For the new Indianapolis Colts jerseys, it only makes sense to get a final deal done with Manning after the new CBA is approved. Hopefully, that new CBA should contain a hard cap because anything less likely destroys the great game of professional football. Until then, the two sides are ironing out the details on things that do not require a CBA to do.

On a side note, as I have screamed pontificated on all off-season, it's pretty clear Peyton is not happy with his current deal and wants a new one. Yet, despite the absence of a new deal this year, Peyton still attended OTAs, mandatory mini-camp, and he plans to be there for day one of training camp in roughly three weeks. This attitude is in stark contrast to Robert Mathis and Reggie Wayne. Like Peyton, these two want new deals. Unlike Peyton, they skipped out on OTAs, ditched mandatory mini-camp, likely received fines for their absence, and created an unnecessary distraction by not showing up for work they are contractually obligated to do.

The Internal Revenue Service insists the money should have been included in income by the franchise, owned for a quarter-century by auto dealer Thomas M. Benson Jr. The Tax Court case challenges that position.

The litigation only concerns one tax year, 2003. But news reports and bond financing documents concerning the Superdome say such large payments have been made regularly. A similar tax treatment position taken by the Saints in other years would have afforded the team cumulatively a substantial economic edge.

Neither the team nor its tax lawyer responded Tuesday to requests for comment.

According to the lawsuit, the $8.5 million was one of a series of "inducement payments" starting in 2001 for 10 years to keep the National Football League team in New Orleans. The lawsuit says, the money was to be used, among other things, to "acquire additional and higher-priced player contacts" to make the team "more competitive in the NFL."