Peyton Manning

Manning certainly wanted to get a new, big contract, but, believe me, he didn’t enjoy the process. That much I know. There were times last season when the Colts wanted to talk about a deal, but Manning wanted to think football. He didn’t want his agent calling with contract offers while he was planning for that week’s game, so he said no in-season negotiating. That made him look standoffish, but that wasn’t the case.

It was timing.

And the deal didn’t get done, leaving the Colts in a situation where they had cap issues if it didn’t this year and leaving Manning wondering some how much they truly appreciated him.

Manning was bothered as much as anything by why it didn’t get done before the 2010 season even started. Why did the Colts leave him hanging? When New England’s Tom Brady signed his new deal last year ($18 million a year), it set the market. I didn’t think Manning would take a deal for that average, but he did.

It’s not the money for him. It’s the competition. It drives the guy, whether on the field or at the negotiating table. So, in this instance, he has to be happy about the tie with Brady, his on-field rival, but off-field friend.

He still hasn’t been cleared to practice.

Colts owner Jim Irsay said he was “thrilled” to sign the only four-time MVP in league history to a deal that will likely keep him in Indianapolis for the rest of his career. It’s a five-year contract for $90 million with $69 million of that paid in the first three years, Irsay posted on his Twitter account.

“Signing Peyton was a top priority for this organization and we are thrilled that the deal is complete,” Irsay said in a statement released by the team Saturday. “We feel that it is a salary cap friendly deal and it allows us more flexibility.

The deal comes nearly five months after the team used the exclusive franchise tag to prevent Manning from negotiating with any other teams. Had Manning signed the one-year offer, he would have made $23.1 million this season.