It’s time. Peyton Manning will announce his retirement on Monday, one month to the day after winning Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos.
ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, technically on hiatus as he battles cancer, was first with the news on Sunday morning. Mortensen cited a source familiar with Manning’s decision.
The official retirement will be made at the Broncos’ facility; Manning signed with Denver in 2012 and was with the franchise for two Super Bowl appearances (the Broncos lost to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLVIII).
Fox Sports’ Mike Garafolo tweeted that Manning told the Broncos of his decision on Saturday night, and called team president Joe Ellis, general manager John Elway and head coach Gary Kubiak to inform them.
Manning’s announcement has been expected, as his level of play fell off significantly last year, and he was benched for Brock Osweiler after a four-interception performance against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9. Shortly after, news came that Manning was dealing with plantar fasciitis, and he spent the rest of the regular season healing and rehabbing.
Manning started the Broncos’ three playoff games, but did not throw a touchdown pass in two of those, including the Super Bowl.
Manning’s retirement will be compared to how his boss the last four years, John Elway, stepped away. Elway, the Broncos’ general manager, is the only Hall of Fame quarterback who retired immediately after a Super Bowl win. Manning will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2021. Manning’s farewell to the NFL will be winning Super Bowl 50 over the Carolina Panthers, his second Super Bowl title.
Manning’s resume is impressive. He’s the NFL’s only five-time MVP. He is a seven-time first-team All-Pro. He owns the single-season records for passing yards and passing touchdowns, and the career records for passing yards and passing touchdowns. Manning is the first quarterback to win a Super Bowl as the starting quarterback of two different franchises. He had an amazing run with the Indianapolis Colts, then after missing the 2011 season with a neck injury, he signed with the Denver Broncos and had four strong seasons with them.
Manning’s final few months in the NFL included a championship, but plenty of controversy too. Late last season, an Al Jazeera report said Manning’s wife received human growth hormone through an anti-aging clinic in Indianapolis, and the report suggested Manning used HGH. Manning angrily denied the claims in that report. In February there was suddenly a renewed focus on a 20-year-old incident in which a female University of Tennessee athletic trainer claimed Manning placed his “naked butt and rectum” and his genitals on her face, though Manning says he didn’t do that and simply mooned a teammate.
Whether the recent negative news will ultimately affect Manning’s legacy remains to be seen. But his resume on the field is unprecedented. Manning walks away as one of the biggest legends in NFL history, and a Super Bowl champion.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
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