After 18 years, two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning has officially retired from professional football.
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“I’ll miss those handshakes with Tom Brady”, Manning added.
His voice cracking with emotion, Peyton Manning said good bye to the game he loved at a news conference packed with friends, family and laughter. And after 18 years, it’s time.
But he just might be right, too.
A month after basking in the glow of his second Lombardi Trophy and a parade through downtown Denver attended by more than a million fans, the soon-to-be 40-year-old quarterback called one last audible and told Broncos boss John Elway he’s retiring.
“I wanted to take coach (Tony) Dungy’s advice and take time to enjoy the Super Bowl win”, Manning said.
“I’m totally convinced that the end of my football career is just the beginning of something I haven’t even discovered yet”, he said.
Manning is the only quarterback to start the Super Bowl for two different franchises a couple of times each, and the only starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different franchises.
Manning has also been credited with helping to usher in a new era of the “passing quarterback” in the NFL.
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Also on hand is Bennie Fowler, who caught Manning’s last pass on a 2-point conversion to cap Denver’s 24-10 win over Carolina a month ago in Super Bowl 50.
Peyton Manning’s appreciation of the game would evolve from there, of course. He used every asset God gave him to be the best QB he could be.
“I know it was tough, and you were special along the way”, Kubiak said.
Manning, who became the face of the National Football League as a glamor quarterback and ubiquitous TV pitchman, has been hailed for his meticulous preparation and ability to find holes in opposing defenses as he surveys them at the line of scrimmage. “I just think he’s the most impactful player who’s ever played the game at that position, and maybe period”. I went hunting with (former Colts center) Jeff Saturday.
But Manning returned, signing with the Denver Broncos and leading them to a 45-12 record over four seasons. No one asked Manning about the ill-fated HGH allegations, but a reporter did ask (vaguely) about the sexual assault allegations that recently came back into the public eye.
“God bless all of you”, he said.
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With a Tuesday deadline looming, it began to appear as though Manning might want to play another season but for another team – the Broncos needed his hefty salary for other players, including his replacement.
