Once again, NO player restructures ever without gaining something in the deal. Manning DID NOT take a pay cut. His deal was simply restructured to open a bit of cap for the 2015 season.

2015 - $15M base salary + $2.5M restructuring bonus = $17.5M cap hit

2016 - $19M base salary + $2.5M restructuring bonus = $21.5M cap hit

The supposed $4M pay cut was actually at the very least a $1M increase in pay spread over the two years. In addition, the possible $4M in bonuses could make it a $5M increase in pay.

Believe me, Brees would go for this type of deal in a minute. Any player would. No star player ever takes a true pay cut, nor should they. Thinking they do is either naivety or stupidity. The media usually falls into the second category. I hope some of our fans fall into the first, instead.