Peyton Manning poses with his jersey following a press conference at Broncos headquarters. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

According to ESPN’s Chris Mortenson, Peyton Manning could have made a lot more money playing outside of Denver. Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams was reportedly willing to pay Manning $25 million per season and give him partial ownership of his team.

The Broncos are giving Manning roughly $19 million per season. Of course, he chose Denver for the leadership up top. Any aging quarterback would love to play under John Elway and John Fox, and for a team that made it to the divisional round of the playoffs the year before.

Now we wait to see if Manning is worth the large contract. What do you think about the money ($96 million over five years) that the Broncos are spending on Manning?

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Peyton Manning has been on the market for over a week, and teams are getting anxious. (Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo)

The Peyton Manning watch could be over as soon as Friday. The Denver Broncos private plane is heading to North Carolina to watch Manning throw at Duke University.

It’s been confirmed that John Elway is on that flight.

Manning told the Miami Dolphins Friday morning that they were out of the running. The Arizona Cardinals are also nearly out of the running because they must make a decision on a $7 million bonus to Kevin Kolb by 2:00 p.m. MST.

That leaves the Broncos and the Tennessee Titans. The Rockies vs. the Smokies. Playing under Elway’s leadership vs. owning part of the team.

Manning is known for his meticulous preparation habits, and making the decision as to where he’s playing (and likely ending his career) is no different. He’s not rushing into anything, but by taking his time, does that hurt the chances of the team that signs him in terms of being able to sign the necessary supporting cast?

Both the Broncos and the Titans have relatively clear paths to the top of their divisions. Titans owner Bud Adams has sweetened the pot for Manning by offering him things like a “lifetime contract” and 10% ownership of the team. The Broncos have their own sweetener in John Elway and John Fox leading the team.

This is understandably a difficult decision for Manning to come to, but he must make one now. His team’s future rides on it, whichever team that is.

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