Peyton Manning rubbed the forehead on his bronze bust, situated on an eight-foot-tall pillar in the Broncos’ Ring of Fame Plaza outside Empower Stadium.
Then, as a crowd of around 1,000 fans cheered early Sunday afternoon, he admired the bust then patted its backside as if it were one of his wideouts.
The ex-Broncos quarterback soaked in the unveiling of his pillar ahead of his induction into the team’s Ring of Fame at halftime of the game against Washington. Manning said the past week “has been all about remembering my four years in Denver and how it all came about,” as he reflected from being an injured castaway in Indianapolis to winning Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos.
“That free agency, that frenzy — and it was so nice to make a decision to come out here, get settled, and go back to work,” Manning said. “It was the best decision I ever made. Football was fun again.”
Among those in attendance at the pillar unveiling were president of football operations John Elway, president/CEO Joe Ellis, GM George Paton, former coach John Fox, former teammate Brandon Stokley and Manning’s family. Manning’s son Cooper presented the quarterback with his orange Ring of Fame blazer as the crowd roared with chants of “PFM!”
“(Former linebacker) Tom Jackson sent me a text this morning saying, ‘Welcome to the fraternity,'” Manning said. “Every time I played here with the Colts, I was always looking up at the names all around the stadium… I’m very honored to join that list.”
After the ceremony, Manning hit the brakes on talk that he might purchase a stake in the Broncos franchise, saying that’s “not really on my radar.” The team will likely be sold in 2022.
AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post
Former Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning is introduced as the latest member of the team’s Ring of Fame during halftime against the Washington Football Team at Empower Field at Mile High on Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. Manning won a Super Bowl as well as an MVP as the Broncos quarterback.“I haven’t had any serious conversations with anyone (about buying the team),” Manning said. “Certainly there’s some people who have called me and said, ‘Hey, what do you think’s going to happen with the Broncos? Are you going to try to own the team?’ But I keep looking for that $3 billion in my pocket, and I can’t find it. I think it’s in a hidden account somewhere.”
As the 35th individual, 30th player and fourth quarterback to be inducted into the Ring of Fame since its inception in 1984, Manning is the second member to join the Broncos’ most prestigious club this year. Former coach Mike Shanahan was inducted at the Oct. 17 game against the Raiders.
Manning played 13 years in Indianapolis but was released by the Colts a few weeks before Denver signed him in March 2012. The first part of Manning’s time in Denver was spent living at Shanahan’s house and rehabbing from a serious neck injury. Over four seasons in Denver, he led the team to two Super Bowl appearances and threw 140 touchdowns.
Manning credited Fox and Elway for upholding their end of the bargain by putting the right pieces in place around him.
“Everything they told me they were going to do, they did, and that’s not always the case when you’re recruiting someone,” he said.
In the halftime ceremony, Fox presented Manning with his Ring of Fame ring and Manning’s name was unveiled on the west side of the stadium. Manning received a standing ovation before briefly addressing the crowd. Then, he switched out his orange blazer for an orange No. 18 jersey and threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Stokley in the end zone.
“To the Bowlen family, to the Denver Broncos organization and to all of Broncos Country, you took a chance on me in 2012 at a pivotal moment in my career,” Manning told the crowd. “And I will never forget it.”
With the franchise’s ownership situation in flux, reports have linked Manning to potential groups interested in buying the Broncos.
In July, Ellis said there would be a transition in ownership after the season, with the hope that the Broncos would have an owner in place by kickoff of the 2022 season. The Broncos, valued at $3.2 billion by Forbes this summer, are expected to shatter the NFL-record $2.275 billion paid by David Tepper for the Carolina Panthers in 2018.
Manning, who lives in Denver with his family, said he’s as interested as the fans are in who buys the team from the Pat Bowlen Trust. But he also said his gig calling the “ManningCast” alongside brother Eli on Monday Night Football, and the chance to spend time with his family occupies his time at the present.
“I come to the games and I want to know what’s going to happen like everybody else,” he said. “But I have no relationship or agreement with anybody (to buy the team), and even if I am offered an opportunity, I haven’t decided if I would even do it. I actually like what I’m doing now.”
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Peyton Manning addresses potential ownership of Broncos franchise: “It’s not really on my radar.” - The Denver Post
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