Peyton Manning To Retire: Denver Broncos Told Manning Is Retiring From NFL [Rumor]
Peyton Manning will reportedly retire from the Denver Broncos and the NFL next week. Manning has allegedly told the Broncos that he will retire and that the public announcement is going to come within a few days. A report from Scout confirms rumors that have been going around the NFL since the Broncos won the Super Bowl. Now it appears very likely that Peyton Manning has indeed decided to call an end to his career.
This confirms an earlier report from Woody Paige at the Denver Post, stating that Peyton Manning is ready to “ride off into the sunset.” Paige has two sources stating that Manning has played his final game for the Denver Broncos and that he will likely announce his retirement within the next week. It would bring an end to his NFL career just weeks before his 40th birthday.
Manning spent four seasons with the Denver Broncos, starting 65 games for the team. That record includes a lot of postseason success and recently led the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory. He finishes with a 50-15 record, 19,062 passing yards, 151 touchdowns, and a lasting legacy with a second NFL franchise. With that Super Bowl win, Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead two teams to a Super Bowl (Indianapolis Colts).
It is likely that the countdown to Peyton Manning giving his induction speech at Canton has also begun. During his 18-year NFL career, Manning posted a 186-79 regular season record. He threw for 71,940 yards, 539 touchdowns, and 251 interceptions in that time. Manning finishes with a 65.3 completion percentage and 96.5 quarterback rating during the regular season. The record books will showcase his name quite a few times, including being one of the highest-paid players during his career.
Manning made it to the NFL Playoffs 15 times in his 18 seasons, posting a 14-13 combined record as the starting quarterback. In addition to his two Super Bowl titles (2006, 2015), he finishes with 7.339 passing yards, 40 touchdowns, and 25 interceptions. Manning has a postseason completion percentage of 63.2 and a quarterback rating of 87.4 during his appearances in the playoffs.
In each of his four seasons with the Denver Broncos, Peyton Manning helped get the team to the AFC Playoffs. Twice the team made it to the Super Bowl, coming up short against the Seattle Seahawks and then beating the Carolina Panthers. Seven times Manning was named a First-Team All Pro and 14 times he was named to the AFC Pro Bowl team. If Manning indeed retires from the NFL, he finishes with the most passing yards and passing touchdowns in the history of the game.
Manning still has one year left on his current contract with the Broncos, so his retirement means leaving some money on the table. He is due $19 million for the 2016 NFL season and is set to receive a bonus of $2.5 million for restructuring his contract. That bonus will count against the salary cap for the Broncos, but it appears that the full $19 million in salary will not. With Brock Osweiler set to be a free agent during the NFL offseason, it could leave the Broncos struggling to find a new starting quarterback very soon.
No official confirmation has come from Manning or his representatives just yet, so the reports from Woody Paige and Scout could still be considered rumors at this point. The new information seems to confirm that he will indeed decide to retire, though, and that he is simply waiting for the NFL Combine to conclude before making the public announcement. Letting the Denver Broncos know ahead of time seems to be both a courtesy and a way to allow the team to starting planning harder for the 2016 NFL season. Now Peyton Manning is indeed close to visiting that sunset.
[Photo by Paul Hiffmeyer/Disneyland Resort via Getty Images]
