ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Sheriff will ride off into the sunset with a fairy-tale ending.
Peyton Manning, who revived his career in Denver with four seasons that included a Super Bowl championship last month, will announce his retirement at a Monday news conference, the team confirmed Sunday morning. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen was the first to report the news.
The Broncos placed several tributes to Manning on its social media accounts and confirmed the retirement. The news conference will be held at 11 a.m. at the team’s facilities. It will air live on FOX31 Denver and on KDVR.com.
“When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, it’s easy to see how fortunate we’ve been to have him on our team,” Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager John Elway said in a news release.
“Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more — not only for the football team but in the community. I’m very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career.”
Manning, who turns 40 later this month, came to the Broncos in 2012 after sitting out the 2011 season because of four neck surgeries, then was released before free agency because the Indianapolis Colts were going to draft Andrew Luck.
Manning played 13 spectacular seasons in Indianapolis, leading the Colts to the playoffs in 11 of those seasons and the Super Bowl XLI title against the Chicago Bears. Indianapolis also lost to the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV.
He signed a five-year, $96 million contract and led the Broncos to a 45-12 record when he was the starting quarterback, four AFC West titles, four first-round playoff byes, two Super Bowls and the most recent Super Bowl title, a 24-10 win over the Carolina Panthers on Feb. 7.
It was widely expected the Super Bowl would be Manning’s last game after a 2015 season that saw him as only a shell of his former self in which he threw only nine touchdown passes and 17 interceptions.
He was benched in a deplorable loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in November, then sat out six games while recovering from a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, only to be reinserted into the lineup in the second half of the regular-season finale against the San Diego Chargers.
He led a second-half comeback that secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, then was at quarterback as the Broncos beat the Pittsburgh Steelers and New England Patriots to reach Super Bowl 50.
After the win over the Patriots, Manning was heard telling New England coach Bill Belichick, “This might be my last rodeo.”
He wasn’t spectacular against the Panthers as Von Miller and the league’s top-ranked defense dominated, but Manning got his long-sought second championship, a so-called Plan A that was put in place by Broncos Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager John Elway when Manning came to Denver.
Manning and Elway are the only quarterbacks to end their seasons with Super Bowl wins — and both came in Denver. Elway led the Broncos to two Super Bowl titles in a 16-year career in Denver.
On Friday, Manning informed the Broncos he was not going to take a physical, a requirement to make his salary guaranteed for the 2016 season.
Manning, the only five-time NFL MVP, has the most career passing yards (71,940) and passing touchdowns (539) in league history. He also has an NFL record 200 career wins (regular season and playoffs combined) and is the only quarterback to win Super Bowls with two franchises.
In 2013, Manning had the most prolific season by a quarterback in NFL history. He set league single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and passing touchdowns (55) while leading the Broncos to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1998 season.
Still, the season ended in spectacular fashion as the Broncos were routed by the Seattle Seahawks, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII.
Manning has also been plagued in recent months by reports tied to his past. Al Jazeera reported that human growth hormone was mailed in 2011 from an Indianapolis medical institute to Manning’s wife, Ashley, and implied it was for Manning as he recovered from the neck surgeries.
Then in the week after the Super Bowl, a title IX lawsuit was filed against the University of Tennessee mentioned a Manning incident when he attended to school. A former Tennessee female trainer had sued Manning and his father Archie in 2003 for defamation.
The Broncos had turned their attention in the past week to quarterback Brock Osweiler, who went 5-2 in place of Manning this season. They are trying to secure him before he hits the free agent market this week. The team reportedly has offered Osweiler a three-year, $45 million deal.
Still, Monday will be about Manning and the feting of a Hall of Fame career that places him at the top among the all-time greats to have played the position.
“It was a blessing to coach Peyton Manning,” Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. “Nobody worked harder at the game and nobody prepared harder than Peyton. His preparation was the best I’ve ever seen with how he went about his business. There was nothing like his work habits.”
“He and I battled together and along the way we talked about dreaming that it could end the way it ended. And I’ll be damned, it did.”
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