The NFL is investigating allegations that human growth hormone was shipped to his home in his wife's name following an Al Jazeera report that Manning dismissed as "garbage." And in a new lawsuit filed last month. Manning was cited as an example of a hostile environment for women at the University of Tennessee for his alleged harassment of a female trainer in 1996.
Although his teammates said his speech on the eve of the game felt very much like a goodbye, Manning didn't call it his "last rodeo" right away, saying he needed time to reflect.
Manning's retirement allows the Broncos to focus on re-signing his longtime backup, Brock Osweiler, who went 5-2 in his place.
So, defensive coordinators, you can breathe a little easier today: Manning will no longer be on the docket to wreck your game plans and ruin your designs on a title.
His first came in 2007 with the Indianapolis Colts, who drafted him No. 1 overall in 1998. The Colts gave up on him after a series of neck surgeries forced Manning to miss all of the 2011 season and left him without feeling in the fingertips of his right hand.
"Peyton was a player that guys wanted to play with," 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."
"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."
Denver gained only 194 yards against the Panthers, the fewest for a victorious team in a Super Bowl, and Manning had but 13 completions for 141 yards. Thanks to a defense led by game MVP Von Miller,Cheap NFL Jerseys, however, Manning became the oldest quarterback to win a championship, a year older than Elway was when he won his second Super Bowl in 1999 before walking away.
"The only thing that's basically slowed Peyton Manning down was Father Time."
"He beat you mentally," said Ware, who came to Denver two years ago for the chance to play with Manning. "That was his guide: Physically you might be faster than me, you might be more athletic than me, but I'm going to outsmart you every time."
A torn ligament in his left foot hampered Manning all the way back to August. It led to his worst statistical season and sidelined him for six weeks before that fairy tale finish in Santa Clara, California, when his defense carried him across the finish line.
"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."
"I think from the sense of quarterbacks,Wholesale Jerseys China, he's been fast-paced, no-huddle, dynamic offense, score a lot of points, and score quickly," said his brother, Eli Manning, a two-time Super Bowl winner himself, for the Giants. "Now you see that more. More teams are doing it. The Colts kind of started that trend and did it well for a long time."
A month after Denver's triumph in Super Bowl 50, Manning informed John Elway he is following his lead and riding off into that orange sunset just like the Broncos' boss did 17 years ago after winning his second Super Bowl.
A rare superstar quarterback on the open market in 2012, Manning resettled in Denver, where, despite a right arm weakened by nerve damage, he went 50-15 with his fifth MVP award and two trips to the Super Bowl in four seasons.
"He was on the forefront of basically a revolution in the way offenses are run in the National Football League," Joe Theismann said recently. "His footprint was bigger than just the cities he played in. He transformed the position. The style of offense that he ran in Indianapolis was revolutionary and nobody ever figured out how to stop it there — or in Denver.
Constantly harassed, never quite comfortable — sort of the way the whole season played out — Manning walked away with his second NFL title after Denver's defense, with seven sacks and four takeaways, all but handed him the Lombardi Trophy in a 24-10 victory over the Carolina Panthers.
Just shy of 40, Manning will forgo $19 million and a 19th season in the NFL, where he served as both a throwback and a transformer during a glittering career bookmarked by an unprecedented five MVP awards and dozens of passing records.
"He had to do several things different this year," said his dad, Archie, a former star quarterback himself. "Had to take off during the season, which he'd never done before. He ran the scout team, which I don't think he'd ever d