Manning Heads Straight To Practice

ANDERSON, Ind. -- Fresh from signing the NFL's largest rookie contract, Peyton Manning put football ahead of ceremony and joined his Indianapolis Colts teammates at practice.

The No. 1 pick in the NFL draft signed a six-year, $42.7 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts on Wednesday. Then he made the 60-mile drive to training camp, skipping the traditional news conference to announce the signing.

"The contract was complicated and it took some time to get done," Manning said after his first practice. "Tom Condon, Bill Polian and Jimmy Irsay worked hard on the deal. I plan to earn it."

Before the practice, Manning walked into the dining hall at Anderson University, where the Colts train, shortly before noon. He said hello to a few people and sat down for lunch. When someone remarked that it looked as if he put a lot of Tabasco sauce on his food, he replied: "I come from New Orleans."

It will be a hectic first week for Manning, who flew in Tuesday night from his parents' home in Louisiana, where he waited while his agent, Tom Condon, and Colts president Bill Polian worked out the deal.

After Wednesday's practice, the Colts head 120 miles west to Champaign, Ill., to work out for three days with the St. Louis Rams. Manning will jump right in as the starting quarterback, a job he was handed as soon as he was drafted.

Manning missed five days of camp and eight practices, although he attended all of the Colts' preseason training sessions, studied dozens of tapes and worked during the off-season with Bruce Arians, Indianapolis' quarterbacks coach.

"It's up to me to make up for lost time," said Manning. "I'll put in all the extra work that needs to be done."

Manning's deal includes an $11.6 million signing bonus, $10 million of which Manning got as soon as he signed Wednesday morning in Indianapolis. The total could range between $42.7 million and $48 million -- there are $5 million in incentive clauses.

That puts him just about the same range as Brett Favre of Green Bay, who has won three straight NFL MVP awards.

And on average it eclipses by about 9 percent the contract signed by the No. 2 pick, Ryan Leaf, who went to San Diego. Leaf received a bonus of $11.25 million and $31.25 million for five years, an average of $6.25 million a year to $7.12 million for Manning.

But that might as well be Monopoly money -- few premier quarterbacks go the entire length of their contracts without renegotiating and extending them.

Favre, for example, is likely to use Manning's deal as a reason to redo his deal and Steve Young of San Francisco has changed his contract so many times, he may end up getting paid by the 49ers a decade or more after he retires.

Manning is thought to be a little more ready than Leaf to step into a starting job. In fact, when he was in high school in New Orleans, he sometimes worked out with the Saints, then coached by Jim Mora, who took over this year as the coach of the Colts.

But Mora has reservations.

"Every day that he missed puts him further behind," he said Tuesday before learning of the agreement. "This is a time when you do a lot of your fundamental hard work and prepare for the season."