As teams furiously search for ways to create cap room for the looming free agency bonanza that starts on Tuesday, they reach out to starters for ways to restructure their contracts. The Denver Broncos entered March with roughly $17 million in cap space after applying the $12 million franchise tag on Demaryius Thomas. $17 million is a fair amount, but not nearly enough if Denver wants to try and retain some of Julius Thomas, Terrance Knighton, Rahim Moore, Nate Irving, Orlando Franklin and Virgil Green.

The biggest hit on the Broncos cap heading into next season was Peyton Manning, with $17.5 million in cap space. After the media circus surrounding a potential Peyton retirement ended, the focus turned to Denver's 2015 season and if it could retain enough free agents to compete for Super Bowl. While Manning's return was certain, his salary entering the season was not.

After scattered rumors about negotiations for a restructure between Manning and the Broncos, a result was announced on Wednesday. Manning agreed to lower his base salary from $19 million to $15 million this season, converting the $4 million into incentives that can be earned with a Super Bowl victory. The move frees $4 million in cap space for the Broncos, but is that enough?

Now players have no obligation to reduce a contract that their team offered. Denver offered Manning a multi-year deal that put him in position to make $19 million this coming season. General manager John Elway invested heavily last year into the free agent market, signing players like Aqib Talib, Demarcus Ware and T.J. Ward to multi-year deals. Elway put Denver in this tough situation with a limited window to compete for a Super Bowl. 

Manning agreed to reduce his salary and while he may not be happy with the move, it needed to be made when Denver will be squeezing money together to keep some of their priority free agents in town. Julius Thomas and Terrance Knighton are likely gone, creating more holes on a team that looked dreadful late in the year. 

While Manning certainly played hurt in the second half, it doesn't fully excuse his sub-par play. He lacked even less velocity and touch on the ball than we've seen after his neck surgery. Even with a healthy return next season, it's clear Manning is in decline and he wasn't worth $19 million. Manning opted to take a reduced pay cut, instead of the reported $7-9 million pay cut reported by Jason Cole in late February. Manning indicated he wanted his offensive weapons brought back, but $4 million isn't the type of major savings that will enable the Broncos to stay in bidding war for Thomas.

I am a believer in players taking care of their family and securing themselves financially with every dollar possible. But in this instance where Manning opted to take a pay cut with a desire to retain his favorite tight end, he could have done more to insure the Broncos have a better chance at bringing him back.