, seven-year contract that includes a record $34.5 million signing bonus, The Associated Press learned Tuesday.Tuesday's agreement will drop the quarterback's salary cap number to $8.3 million, saving the team more than $10 million and giving the Colts more flexibility to sign players when the free-agency period opens Wednesday.
By reaching a deal before March 17, the Colts can remove the exclusive franchise tag they placed on the league's co-MVP last week. If they had to keep the tag on Manning, it would have cost the Colts a league-record $18.4-million against next year's salary cap of $80.5 million.
Colts spokesman Craig Kelley declined to comment.
Manning led the Colts to the AFC championship game. In the best season of his six-year NFL career, he threw for 4,267 yards and had 29 touchdowns and just 10 interceptions.
Two days after the Colts' 24-14 loss to New England in the AFC title game, Colts owner Jim Irsay promised to make Manning the NFL's highest-paid player.
But negotiations lagged for more than a month.
On Tuesday morning, the two sides finally agreed to the deal.
The signing bonus is $14 million more than the previous high, paid a year-and-a-half ago to Philadelphia quarterback Donovan McNabb.
Manning's entire bonus is guaranteed, and he can earn another $19 million in roster bonuses, a source close to the negotiations told The AP on condition of anonymity.
Last week, team president Bill Polian set a Monday deadline for finishing Manning's deal, saying the Colts would otherwise face major roster changes.
"Free agency is constrained by what we do with Peyton," Polian said last week. "If he plays under the tag, we're out of the free-agent market."
