Peyton Manning's Super Bowl 50 victory over the Carolina Panthers was indeed his last rodeo.
The five-time NFL MVP will announce his retirement during a news conference Monday at the Denver Broncos' headquarters, a source familiar with the quarterback's decision told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Peyton Manning’s story comes with the dream ending and a well-earned bow
At a time like this, it's important for us as sports fans not to lose sight of what we all got to witness in Peyton Manning.
History will show the quarterback played 18 seasons, made four Super Bowl trips with two titles, set a mountain of records and earned a place on football's Mount Rushmore. He will retire as the NFL's all-time leader in passing touchdowns (539), passing yards (71,940) and quarterback wins (186, tied with Brett Favre).
Manning, who played 14 seasons with theIndianapolis Colts, was a first-ballot Hall of Famer-in-waiting before spinal fusion surgery caused him to miss the 2011 season. He went to the Broncos as a free agent in 2012 and authored the most prolific season of any quarterback in history in 2013. The Broncos made two Super Bowl trips in Manning's final three seasons.
When he embraced New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick after the Broncos' AFC Championship Game victory in January, NFL Films cameras captured audio of Manning hinting to the coach that the 2015 season would be his last.
"This might be my last rodeo. So it sure has been a pleasure," Manning said.
Manning was a five-time MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time first-team All-Pro. His team made the playoffs in 15 of his 18 seasons. He had 14 4,000-yard passing seasons, and of the three seasons in league history in which a quarterback threw at least 49 touchdown passes, Manning has two of them.
Brock Osweiler in the draft.
"What he's done, man, he's the greatest," Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. has said. "Some people ... you have to say, 'You remember that guy?' and then you keep saying things. He's Peyton Manning. That's it. You just say Peyton Manning."
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has worked with great quarterbacks throughout his career. He was the San Francisco 49ers' quarterbacks coach in 1994 and was the Broncos' offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998 with John Elway as his quarterback.
"I like to say I've been blessed and fortunate enough to coach three Hall of Famers," Kubiak has said. "There's Steve Young, John, and they're in the Hall of Fame. And there's Peyton, and he's in. We all just have to wait a few years for it to be official."
Elway, now the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations and general manager, promised Manning he would do everything in his power to send him out with a championship. Elway also said he liked "to sign Hall of Famers with chips on their shoulders."
Ryan Harris has said. "You don't say Peyton Manning and I played together or that Peyton Manning was on my team. You say, 'I played with Peyton Manning.' And people could not know anything about you as a player, or what you did, or if you were any good, and they would immediately know you played with one of the best ever and you were always one of the teams that [had] a real shot at the Super Bowl. He's forever."
Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher has likened facing Manning to "playing a computer who knows what you did before, what you're doing now and what you're planning to do later." Manning's recall of defenses, situations and plays -- he once gave detailed descriptions of the scoring plays of every player who caught just one touchdown pass from him -- was the stuff of football legend.
"Peyton, he made me better. He made a lot of guys better," former Broncos and Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "We would have made the NFL probably, but Peyton made us all better. We were more because we played with Peyton Manning. And just think about how many guys can say that."
Manning operated with complete freedom at the line of scrimmage. His 14-year career with the Colts resulted in a new stadium and the Midwestern city's selection to host a Super Bowl.
A sought-after pitchman off the field, Manning put the No. 18 on countless passing hopefuls from coast to coast and will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame's five-year waiting period is over.
As the late Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams said after Manning's Colts repeatedly threw at him: "Man, everybody knows that's the great Peyton Manning ... and Peyton Manning is going to do what Peyton Manning does."
The five-time NFL MVP will announce his retirement during a news conference Monday at the Denver Broncos' headquarters, a source familiar with the quarterback's decision told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
Peyton Manning’s story comes with the dream ending and a well-earned bow
At a time like this, it's important for us as sports fans not to lose sight of what we all got to witness in Peyton Manning.
History will show the quarterback played 18 seasons, made four Super Bowl trips with two titles, set a mountain of records and earned a place on football's Mount Rushmore. He will retire as the NFL's all-time leader in passing touchdowns (539), passing yards (71,940) and quarterback wins (186, tied with Brett Favre).
Manning, who played 14 seasons with theIndianapolis Colts, was a first-ballot Hall of Famer-in-waiting before spinal fusion surgery caused him to miss the 2011 season. He went to the Broncos as a free agent in 2012 and authored the most prolific season of any quarterback in history in 2013. The Broncos made two Super Bowl trips in Manning's final three seasons.
When he embraced New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick after the Broncos' AFC Championship Game victory in January, NFL Films cameras captured audio of Manning hinting to the coach that the 2015 season would be his last.
"This might be my last rodeo. So it sure has been a pleasure," Manning said.
Manning was a five-time MVP, a Super Bowl MVP, a 14-time Pro Bowl selection and a seven-time first-team All-Pro. His team made the playoffs in 15 of his 18 seasons. He had 14 4,000-yard passing seasons, and of the three seasons in league history in which a quarterback threw at least 49 touchdown passes, Manning has two of them.
Brock Osweiler in the draft.
"What he's done, man, he's the greatest," Broncos cornerback Chris Harris Jr. has said. "Some people ... you have to say, 'You remember that guy?' and then you keep saying things. He's Peyton Manning. That's it. You just say Peyton Manning."
Broncos coach Gary Kubiak has worked with great quarterbacks throughout his career. He was the San Francisco 49ers' quarterbacks coach in 1994 and was the Broncos' offensive coordinator from 1995 to 1998 with John Elway as his quarterback.
"I like to say I've been blessed and fortunate enough to coach three Hall of Famers," Kubiak has said. "There's Steve Young, John, and they're in the Hall of Fame. And there's Peyton, and he's in. We all just have to wait a few years for it to be official."
Elway, now the Broncos' executive vice president of football operations and general manager, promised Manning he would do everything in his power to send him out with a championship. Elway also said he liked "to sign Hall of Famers with chips on their shoulders."
Ryan Harris has said. "You don't say Peyton Manning and I played together or that Peyton Manning was on my team. You say, 'I played with Peyton Manning.' And people could not know anything about you as a player, or what you did, or if you were any good, and they would immediately know you played with one of the best ever and you were always one of the teams that [had] a real shot at the Super Bowl. He's forever."
Los Angeles Rams coach Jeff Fisher has likened facing Manning to "playing a computer who knows what you did before, what you're doing now and what you're planning to do later." Manning's recall of defenses, situations and plays -- he once gave detailed descriptions of the scoring plays of every player who caught just one touchdown pass from him -- was the stuff of football legend.
"Peyton, he made me better. He made a lot of guys better," former Broncos and Colts wide receiver Brandon Stokley said. "We would have made the NFL probably, but Peyton made us all better. We were more because we played with Peyton Manning. And just think about how many guys can say that."
Manning operated with complete freedom at the line of scrimmage. His 14-year career with the Colts resulted in a new stadium and the Midwestern city's selection to host a Super Bowl.
A sought-after pitchman off the field, Manning put the No. 18 on countless passing hopefuls from coast to coast and will be enshrined in Canton, Ohio, when the Pro Football Hall of Fame's five-year waiting period is over.
As the late Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams said after Manning's Colts repeatedly threw at him: "Man, everybody knows that's the great Peyton Manning ... and Peyton Manning is going to do what Peyton Manning does."
