Ah, do the Indianapolis Colts have a dilemma requiring King Solomon's advice.
The National Football League team, which made it to the 2010 Super Bowl but finished with a horrendous 2-14 record in 2011, have a decision.
It involves star quarterback
Peyton Manning, who missed all of the most recent season with a neck injury, and is facing an expiring contract. The Colts can either retain, cut or trade Manning, who, complicating matters, is now in his late 30s, old for an NFL player.
How much should loyalty count on either side? How strong a pull is money?
Making the story even more tantalizing, Andrew Luck, the quarterback from Stanford, is widely regarded to be the most promising college quarterback since . . . Peyton Manning, more than a dozen years ago.
Chances are, the Colts, which owe Manning a tremendous debt for his brilliant and courageous play, will stick with Manning and wind up trading the pick for a number of draft choices.
That way, the Colts could add numerous skilled young (and cheap) players who can step in right now and help them win some games in 2012.
We have seen this drama unfold elsewhere. When Brett Favre was aging, the Green Bay Packers allowed him to leave. Earlier, the San Francisco 49ers let Joe Montana, the greatest quarterback of my generation, leave for Kansas City when he was injury riddled at the end of his amazing career.
The Colts have a torturous decision to make. Whatever the franchise decides to do, the naysayers will be outspoken and shrill in their barbs.
So what! The Colts have to make the decision and move on. Of course, with the whole world watching, this is easier said than done.
I say: If Peyton is healthy enough to play, let him stay.
Jon Friedman writes the Media Web column for MarketWatch. Click here to read his latest column.
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