By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher
Typically, athletes do not get to go out as a winner with a championship. But for Peyton Manning is going out that way.
The Denver Broncos quarterback is announcing his retirement. He played 18 seasons in the NFL.
One month ago, Manning guided the Broncos to the Super Bowl win. Now, he is hanging up his cleats for good.
Manning, who departs right before his 40th birthday, leaves behind a $19 million salary for the 2016 season, which would have been his 19th season.
While he was listed as a player for 18 seasons, he only played in 17 of those seasons. He missed the 2011 season due to a neck injury with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him as the No. 1 overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft.
“Peyton was a player that guys wanted to play with,” Broncos executive John Elway said. “That made us better as a team and I’m thrilled that we were able to win a championship in his final year.”
He will officially talk to the media on Monday about his decision to walk away.
Manning walks away as one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. He is the league’s all-time passer and the winningest starting quarterback.
He is also the only quarterback, who guided two separate teams in Super Bowl wins.
“I get asked a lot about my legacy,” Manning said before the Super Bowl. “For me, it’s being a good teammate, having the respect of my teammates, having the respect of the coaches and players. That’s important to me. I am not taking this for granted. I just love football.”
In his career, Manning has appeared in 266 games. He has made 265 starts. He was 186-79 as a starter.
He went 6,125 of 9,380 for 71,940 passing yards. He also had 539 touchdown passes and 251 interceptions.
“There’s no question that his work ethic is what made him into one of the great quarterbacks of all time,” Elway said. “All the film study Peyton did and the process that he went through with game planning and understanding what the other teams did was second to none.”