Peyton Manning ... should he stay or go?

While one Manning gets ready to lead his team - the New York Giants into today's Super Bowl XLVI clash against the New England Patriots - the other, older brother Peyton, is faced with a decision that may not only shape his glittering career, but also his life.

Peyton, considered to be one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever grace the NFL, has been the subject of headlines for the past several weeks as his career remains in limbo following his latest neck surgery, and the question marks over whether or not his team, the Indianapolis Colts, will welcome him back next season.

Having already dished out US$28 million for his 'services' this past season without getting a single snap out of the six-time AFC Player of the Year, there is considerable doubt that Colts owner Jim Irsay will take a similar financial gamble, and may instead opt for top draft option Andrew Luck out of Stanford University.

For some, including former NFL standouts Rod Martin, Gary Jeter and Wendell Tyler, who at the invitation of global sports broadcast giants ESPN will be aboard Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas for this year's Super Bowl at Sea, it simply isn't worth it where Peyton is concerned.

Jeter, who himself has had to deal with serious injuries during his NFL career, believes it time for the many-time Super Bowl XLI champion to call it quits and ride off into the sunset a hero of the game, rather than risk even greater injury on the field in a comeback attempt.

"When I look at Peyton, I see a man who has had a great career, won the Super Bowl and one of the best to ever play the game," said Jeter, a former New York Giants and New England Patriots player.

bad injuries

"I have had some bad injuries and a couple times I had to miss a part, if not all, of the season with problems to my back, and looking at this situation, what I had in my lower back he has in his neck and it's very tough. I would really have to question why he would want to come back and play because it only takes one play to take you out in a normal situation, so now you are looking at going back on the field when it's already iffy at best," Jeter added.

Martin, while empathising with Peyton, also thinks it's time for a change of path, drawing reference to his witnessing of an on-field incident that left a player paralysed in 1978 during his playing days with the Oakland Raiders.

"I was in the game when we played against Darryl Stingley; it was a legal hit from my mentor Jack Tatum, but he didn't get up and that was just one hit. That's all it takes, and Peyton needs to sit and give this some serious thought," advised Martin.

"Peyton is just like the rest of us 'ballers', we don't like to leave something that we really love, and he still has the love for the game," he added.

Peyton's possible return? It's just not good business sense for either party, says Tyler.

"With the Colts, Peyton has had a great career, and I don't believe that any other owner in the NFL would have paid his quarterback $28 million last year and he had a neck injury, and to do that again this year does not make business sense," reasoned Tyler.

Peyton has been cleared by his doctor to make a return.

Whether or not he returns is left to be seen.

- A.L.