During the season, Manning threw 4,557 yards, had a then record 121.1 passer rating, and a then-record 49 touchdown passes while throwing only 10 interceptions. He was a unanimous first-team All-Pro selection. Manning's 2004 season was voted the second greatest passing season of all time by ESPN in 2013. He achieved this despite the 2004 season being the only season of his career where he threw less than 500 passes. He finished with a league-high 13.6 yards per pass completion and 9.2 yards per pass attempt in 2004. Manning's 9.9% touchdown rate for the season was tied for the sixth highest rate in NFL history (with George Blanda in 1961), and it ranks as the highest by a quarterback in the 21st century. His 49 touchdown passes is currently the third highest ever and his 121.1 passer rating is the second highest ever. He was selected as the 2004 NFL MVP drawing 49 of 50 votes, was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year, and was named the Best NFL Player at the ESPY Awards for the second consecutive year. Manning also received the ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance for his 49 touchdown passes. The Colts finished the season with a 12–4 record and their second straight AFC South title. The Colts scored a franchise record 522 points. Three Colts receivers had 1,000 yard seasons with at least 10 touchdowns that season, also a record. Sports statistics cite Football Outsiders calculates that Manning had the best season for a quarterback, play-by-play, in 2004.
Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons. Nicknamed "the Sheriff", he spent 14 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts and four with the Denver Broncos. Manning is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. A member of the Manning football dynasty, he is the second son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning, older brother of former NFL quarterback Eli Manning, and uncle of Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning. He played college football for the Tennessee Volunteers, winning the Maxwell, the Davey O'Brien, and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Awards as a senior en route to victory in the 1997 SEC Championship Game.
Following the Texans game, the Colts reeled off four consecutive wins to make their winning streak seven games. Needing a win to clinch the fifth seed in the playoffs, Manning had one of his best career performances against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Thursday Night Football. He completed his first 17 passes of the game. In addition to completing his last six completions the prior week against the Detroit Lions, Manning's 23 straight completions fell one shy of the NFL record. The Colts trailed 14–0 in the first half and 24–14 to start the fourth quarter. Manning led his seventh fourth quarter win of the season and the Colts put the game away with a defensive touchdown for a 31–24 victory to clinch a seventh consecutive playoff berth. Manning completed 29-of-34 passes (85.7%) for 364 yards and three touchdowns. It increased his NFL record streak of seasons with 25 touchdown passes to 11. Manning and the Colts tied an NFL record by winning three games in a season in which they trailed by at least 14 points. For his efforts, Manning won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in the 2008 season. It was the 19th time he won the award, passing Dan Marino for the most all-time since the award was originated in 1984. He also was selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week. With the Colts' playoff seeding secured, Manning only played the opening drive in a shutout against the division-leading Titans in week 17. He completed all seven of his passes for 95 yards and a touchdown, extending his NFL record to nine seasons with 4,000 yards passing, and also extended the record to a sixth straight season he led the Colts to at least 12 wins. At the end of the 2008 season, Manning was named NFL MVP for the third time, tying Brett Favre for the most MVP awards in NFL history.
Manning went to Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he led the Greenies football team to a 34–5 record during his three seasons as the starter. He was named Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player-of-the-Year and Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club National Offensive Player-of-the-Year in 1993. While at Newman, he began wearing the #18 jersey in honor of his older brother Cooper, who had to give up football due to spinal stenosis. Younger brother Eli also wore the number when he became starting quarterback. Newman has since retired the #18 jersey and it can be seen hanging in the school gym. Manning was among the most sought after high school players in the country and was recruited by about 60 colleges, including Florida, Florida State, LSU, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Texas A&M, and his father's alma mater Ole Miss.
In 1996, while attending the University of Tennessee, Manning was accused of sexual assault by trainer Jamie Ann Naughright after he pressed his genitals against Naughright's face during a foot examination. He claimed that he was just pulling a prank by "mooning" Malcolm Saxon in the room as Naughright bent over to examine him. Both Naughright and Saxon have denied Manning's story. Naughright settled with the university for $300,000 for its alleged failure in four incidents and resigned from the school. She also made a list of 33 complaints about the school. Naughright filed a defamation lawsuit against Manning and three other parties in 2002, claiming that Manning defamed her in a book he wrote with his father and author John Underwood. The lawsuit was settled after the court ruled there was sufficient evidence for it to be heard by a jury. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed due to confidentiality terms.
As a senior, Manning won many awards; he was a consensus first-team All-American, the Maxwell Award winner, the Davey O'Brien Award winner, the Johnny Unitas Award winner, and the Best College Player ESPY award winner, among others. He finished as the runner-up to Charles Woodson in the 1997 Heisman Trophy voting. He became the fourth player in school history to finish as the runner-up. In 2005, Tennessee retired Manning's number (16). One of the streets leading to Neyland Stadium was renamed to Peyton Manning Pass. Manning finished his final season at Tennessee with 3,819 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions. While at the University of Tennessee, Manning excelled academically and was elected to the Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1997. He also received the National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete Award.
In 2005, the Colts had a greatly improved defense over that of recent years. Combining this with their offense, they won their first 13 games, including a 40–21 rout over the two-time defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. This was Manning's first road win against the Patriots in eight attempts, and his three touchdown passes earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. By week 15, the Colts had a perfect 13–0 record, and secured the AFC South and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Nevertheless, head coach Tony Dungy made the decision to play all of his regular starters against the San Diego Chargers. However, the Colts played a sub-par game against the Chargers and fell short of the win; the score was 26–17. Manning finished the 2005 season with 3,747 passing yards, which was the first time he threw less than 4,000 yards since his rookie season in 1998, largely because Manning sat out much of the final two games with the top AFC seed clinched. His quarterback rating of 104.1 was the highest in the league for the season.
In Manning's rookie season under head coach Jim Mora, he threw 3,739 yards and 26 touchdowns, set five different NFL rookie records including most touchdown passes in a season and most interceptions in a rookie year, and was named to the NFL All-Rookie First Team. In his NFL debut, Manning was 21-of-37 for 302 passing yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. He threw his first career touchdown, a six-yard pass to Marvin Harrison, in the fourth quarter of the 24–15 loss to the Miami Dolphins. Manning's first win came against fellow rookie Leaf, 17–12 over the San Diego Chargers in week 5. Two weeks later, Manning faced off against Steve Young; he threw three touchdowns, tying a Colts rookie record, but the San Francisco 49ers kicked a late field goal to win 34–31. In November against the New York Jets, Manning threw three touchdowns in a 24–23 win; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this performance. It was the first game-winning drive of Manning's career, as he threw the game-winning touchdown pass to Marcus Pollard. Manning was certainly a bright spot in 1998 for the Colts with 3,739 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns, but also threw a league high 28 interceptions as the team struggled to a 3–13 record with a defense that gave up more than 27 points per game. The Colts lost many close games, including five games where they led by double digits at some point.
Manning, along with his father Archie, co-authored a book titled Manning: A Father, His Sons, and a Football Legacy, which was released in 2000. The book covers Archie's and Cooper's lives and careers, and Manning's life and career up to the time that the book was released, and examines football from both Archie's and Manning's points-of-view. Manning wrote about Jamie Ann Naughright, who accused him of sexual harassment, stating that she had a "vulgar mouth." He described his conduct toward her as "crude, maybe, but harmless." Naughright sued for defamation, resulting in an undisclosed settlement in 2003 and a court order imposing a condition on both Manning and Naughright preventing them from ever talking about the settlement or each other again.
Peyton and Eli Manning played against each other three times in the regular season during their professional careers. These encounters were colloquially dubbed "The Manning Bowl", and Peyton's teams, twice with the Colts and once with the Broncos, held a 3–0 record over Eli and the New York Giants. The first Manning Bowl was held on September 10, 2006, and Peyton's Colts defeated Eli's Giants by a score of 26–21. The second Manning Bowl was held on September 19, 2010, with Peyton and the Colts beating Eli's Giants again by a score of 38–14. The third and final Manning Bowl was held on September 15, 2013, and Peyton and the Broncos beat Eli's Giants 41–23. They faced each other in two Pro Bowls, in 2009 and 2013, both won by the NFC. However, they never faced each other in the playoffs as both always played in separate conferences and never made the Super Bowl at the same time.
On March 24, 2007, his 31st birthday, Manning hosted NBC's Saturday Night Live (season 32, episode 16). His brother Eli also hosted the show five years later. The episode earned the show's highest household rating in more than 10 months in the metered markets. He appeared on SNL again in 2008, the Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special in 2015, and on Weekend Update on the January 29, 2022, episode hosted by Willem Dafoe.
On May 27, 2007, Manning waved the green flag to begin the 91st Indianapolis 500. On February 18, 2018, he drove the pace car during the 2018 Daytona 500. Before the latter, he made a guest appearance on Fox NASCAR's pre-race show alongside race pole-sitter and fellow Nationwide Insurance spokesman Alex Bowman.
In September 2007, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis renamed its children's hospital to Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent. Manning and his wife made a donation of an undisclosed amount to St. Vincent's and have a relationship with the hospital since he came to Indianapolis.
On July 14, 2008, Manning had surgery to remove an infected bursa sac in his left knee. Manning, who wore a knee brace due to problems since he was in college, sat out all four preseason games and missed most of training camp.
During his professional career, Manning earned the nickname, "The Sheriff". The nickname had its origin traced to a Monday Night Football broadcast in 2009 when analyst Jon Gruden described Manning's ability to use of audibles at the line of scrimmage on the road.
In 2009, Manning guest voiced (with his brothers Eli and Cooper) on an episode of The Simpsons called "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" in which Bart dreams of having a baby brother and sees famous brothers like The Marx Brothers, The Blues Brothers, The Wright Brothers, The Mario Brothers, and The Manning Brothers. He also voiced Guapo in the 2017 movie Ferdinand.
Manning helped lead the Colts to three more wins to get to a 7–0 record. Against the Houston Texans in week 9, Manning became the first quarterback to throw over 40,000 yards in a decade in the 20–17 victory. He threw a career-high 25 passes in the first quarter, which were the most in any opening quarter since 1991, and had a career-high 40 pass attempts in the first half. He set a franchise record for most 300-yard passing games in a season with his seventh 300-yard effort of the season, which was an NFL record through the first eight games of a season. In week 10, a 35–34 victory over the New England Patriots, he threw 327 yards, four touchdowns, and two interceptions. His performance against the Patriots earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. Two weeks later, against Houston, Manning claimed his 34th comeback win in the fourth quarter, tying him with John Elway and Johnny Unitas for the second most in NFL history. In week 15 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Manning won his 23rd consecutive regular season game, breaking Jim McMahon's NFL record of 22 straight wins with the Chicago Bears from 1984 to 1987. Despite having a perfect regular season on the line, Manning was limited in the final two games of the regular season with all clinching scenarios locked up for the Colts. The Colts dropped both games to go into the playoffs with a 14–2 record. Manning finished with 4,500 passing yards, 33 touchdowns, and 16 interceptions, which earned him second in the league in those passing categories. At the end of the regular season, Manning was awarded his fourth MVP, breaking the NFL record for most MVPs by a single player. He was also selected to the AP All-Pro team for the fifth time in his career. He finished the regular season tying his then NFL record with seven game-winning drives in 2009.
~ Tom Brady on Peyton Manning in 2011.
The Colts placed their franchise tag on Manning on February 15, 2011. On July 30, 2011, the Colts signed Manning to a 5-year, $90 million contract after negotiations in which he made it clear that he did not need to be the highest-paid player in the NFL.
Manning married his wife, Ashley, in Memphis on St. Patrick's Day, 2001. A graduate of the University of Virginia, Ashley was introduced to him by her parents' next-door neighbor the summer before Manning's freshman year in college. The couple has twins, a son, Marshall Williams, and a daughter, Mosley Thompson, who were born on March 31, 2011. They live in Denver, Colorado. Upon his arrival in Denver, Manning temporarily lived in a house owned by Mike Shanahan until purchasing his own home for $4.575 million.
Manning reportedly memorized the Colts' playbook within a week after being drafted, and in 2012, he was able to precisely recall the details and timing of a specific play that he used at Tennessee 16 years earlier.
With the Colts having the first overall pick in the upcoming 2012 draft, which contained highly rated quarterback Andrew Luck out of Stanford, and with Manning due a $28 million roster bonus, he was released on March 7, 2012. Earlier, the Colts dismissed vice-chairman Bill Polian, who in his previous capacity as general manager drafted Manning, general manager Chris Polian, and head coach Jim Caldwell as a precursor to rebuilding the team.
Manning was one of the most highly sought after free agents going into the 2012 season. Several teams sought out to meet with Manning including the Miami Dolphins, the Tennessee Titans, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Denver Broncos. After visiting both the Arizona Cardinals and the Denver Broncos, Manning ultimately selected Denver after meeting with John Elway, a retired Broncos Hall-of-Famer quarterback who was now the team's Executive Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager, and Broncos head coach John Fox. Manning reached an agreement with the Broncos on a five-year contract worth $96 million on March 20, 2012. Although the #18 is retired in honor of quarterback Frank Tripucka, he gave Manning permission to wear it.
Mark Kiszla, a sports columnist for the Denver Post, in a column about Manning's future plans, said that Manning's net worth "is estimated to be in excess of $150 million" and "That's not enough money to buy an NFL franchise by himself, although an ownership group that included Manning as president with a financial stake in the team would be led by a brilliant football mind." He has donated over $8,000 to Republican politicians, among them Fred Thompson, Bob Corker, and former President George W. Bush. During the 2016 presidential race, Manning contributed to the campaign of Jeb Bush. On October 26, 2012, Manning bought 21 Papa John's Pizza stores, all in Colorado. He sold his shares of the stores in February 2018.
On February 2, 2013, Manning was awarded the AP National Football League Comeback Player of the Year Award, named a first-team All-Pro selection, and finished second in MVP voting. On the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013, he was ranked as the second best player in the NFL by his peers.
In week 14, against the Tennessee Titans, he went over 4,000 passing yards for the 11th time in a season, and tied Dan Marino with his 63rd regular season game with at least 300 passing yards. Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this game. The Colts ended up winning the AFC South for the seventh time in eight years, and Manning became the first quarterback in NFL history to lead his team to nine consecutive postseason berths. It was the 208th consecutive regular season start of his career, breaking Gene Upshaw's record. For the season, Manning finished with an NFL-record 450 completions on 679 attempts and a career-high 4,700 passing yards. Manning's passing yards were a franchise record until it was broken by Andrew Luck in 2014.
On August 28, 2014, Manning was fined $8,268 for taunting D. J. Swearinger during a preseason game against the Houston Texans. With the Broncos' win in their opening game of the 2014 NFL season against the Colts, Manning became, along with Brett Favre, only one of two starting quarterbacks in NFL history to have beaten all 32 teams. The next game was a Super Bowl XLVIII rematch with the Seattle Seahawks. Despite the 26–20 overtime loss, Manning had 303 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and one interception as the Broncos fared better than in the previous year's Super Bowl. On October 5, 2014, in a stellar performance against the Arizona Cardinals, Manning tied his career-high with an 86-yard touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas, threw his 500th career touchdown pass to Julius Thomas, and tied Dan Marino for the most 400-yard games by a quarterback.
On October 19, 2014, against the San Francisco 49ers on NBC Sunday Night Football, Manning threw his 509th career touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas, passing Brett Favre to become the NFL's all-time leader in passing touchdowns. His historic touchdown was part of a 318-yard, four-touchdown passing performance where he earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the 27th and final time in his career. Overall, he finished the 2014 season with 4,727 passing yards, 39 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions. At the end of the regular season, Manning was selected to his 14th Pro Bowl appearance, which at the time tied him with Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Matthews, and Merlin Olsen for most Pro Bowl selections in a career. The Broncos finished with a 12–4 record and earned a first-round bye. However, his season ended after the Broncos lost in the Divisional Round of the playoffs to his former team, the Colts, 24–13. Manning finished 26-for-46 for 211 yards and a touchdown. However, he went just 7-for-18 (38.9%) in the first half, his lowest completion percentage in a first half of any game since 2007. For Manning, the loss was the ninth time he went one-and-done in the postseason. After the season ended, the Broncos and head coach John Fox parted ways. On the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015, he was ranked as the fifth best player by his peers.
The most commonly cited criticism of Manning's professional career is that despite great success and impressive statistics during the regular season, he did not have similar levels of success in the postseason. His career postseason record as a starter was a more modest 14–13 compared to his 186–79 regular season record. However, Manning won two Super Bowls in Super Bowl XLI and Super Bowl 50 and was named MVP in the former. During the early part of Manning's career, commentators noted that "his record-breaking stats were written off because of the Colts' postseason failures." Conversely, Manning's final season in 2015 was statistically his weakest, but saw him end his career with a Super Bowl victory through the assistance of the Broncos' No Fly Zone defense.
On December 27, 2015, Al Jazeera America released a report conducted by the Al Jazeera Investigative Unit investigating professional athletes' use of Performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) which named Manning, among other prominent athletes, as having received illegal drugs from Charles Sly, a pharmacist who worked at the Guyer Anti-Aging Clinic in Indianapolis during the fall of 2011. In July 2016, the NFL cleared Manning of the allegations after it found no evidence to support the claims.
Manning was inducted into the Tennessee Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016. He was also named the 2016 Tennessean of the Year by the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame. Manning was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017, his first year of eligibility for the honor, and was inducted during a ceremony in December. He joined his father Archie in the Hall of Fame, making them the first father and son duo to both be inducted as players.
On February 7, 2016, the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers 24–10 in Super Bowl 50 as the Broncos' defense shut down the favored Panthers' top-ranked offense and regular season MVP Cam Newton. The game set a record for the largest age difference between opposing Super Bowl quarterbacks at 13 years; Manning was 39 and Newton was 26. Manning finished the game 13-of-23 for 141 yards and one interception while being sacked five times, scoring his only passing points with 3:08 left in the fourth quarter when he connected with wide receiver Bennie Fowler for a two-point conversion, which ended up being the final pass of his career. Manning became the oldest starting quarterback to both play in and win a Super Bowl at age 39, until Tom Brady surpassed the record at age 41 in Super Bowl LIII and again at age 43 in Super Bowl LV. Manning also became the first quarterback to start in two Super Bowls each with multiple franchises under different head coaches each time (Dungy, Caldwell, Fox, and Kubiak) and the first quarterback to lead two franchises to a Super Bowl victory. The victory gave Manning his 200th overall win including regular season and playoffs, making him the starting quarterback with the most combined regular season and postseason wins in NFL history. Brady has since surpassed Manning's record in 2016.
Manning announced his retirement, after 18 seasons, on March 7, 2016. The last words of his retirement speech were, "I've fought a good fight. I've finished my football race and after 18 years, it's time. God bless all of you and God bless football." After 18 seasons in the NFL, Manning received the 2016 ESPY Icon Award. He won a total of nine ESPY Awards during his career.
In an emotional press conference, Manning told Colts fans, "Thank you for letting me be your quarterback." Upon his release, Irsay announced that no Colt will ever wear the No. 18 jersey again, and it was formally retired on March 18, 2016. On the NFL Top 100 Players of 2012, he was ranked 50th by his peers despite not playing in the 2011 season.
Manning holds many NFL records, including most MVP awards, quarterback first-team All-Pro selections, 4,000-yard passing seasons, single-season passing yards, and single-season passing touchdowns. He is also third in career passing yards and career passing touchdowns. Helping lead both the Colts and Broncos to two Super Bowls each, Manning is the only quarterback to have reached the Super Bowl with multiple franchises with multiple starts for each. He was inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Manning hosted the 2017 ESPY Awards on July 12, 2017.
On October 7, 2017, in a ceremony attended by hundreds of fans, the Colts unveiled a bronze statue of Manning outside its Lucas Oil Stadium. Manning was inducted into the Indianapolis Colts Ring of Honor and was the first player to have his jersey retired by the Colts since they moved to Indianapolis. In 2019, Manning was named to the NFL 100 All-Time Team.
Manning is the host of Peyton's Places, a documentary series about football on ESPN+, in which Manning interviews players, coaches, and celebrities. The series was renewed for a third season in December 2020. The series is produced by Manning's own production studio, Omaha Productions. Through the studio, Manning also serves as a producer on the sports documentary series Quarterback and Full Court Press.
In 2021, Peyton and Eli began hosting an alternative broadcast of Monday Night Football called the Manningcast on ESPN2 and ESPN+. The show features segments with special guest stars from entertainment, politics, and sports while the Manning brothers watch and commentate on the game.
In 2021, Peyton hosted a revival of the quiz show College Bowl, with his brother Cooper as his "sidekick". The series was renewed in 2022 for a second season.
On February 6, 2021, Manning was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, with the committee taking only 13 seconds to debate his selection. On June 9, 2021, Manning was unanimously elected to the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. Manning was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on August 8, 2021, and the Broncos Ring of Fame on October 31, 2021. Peyton, along with Eli, were named to the 2022 SEC Football Legends Class.
In 2022, the Peyback foundation teamed up with Georgia Tech to launch a scholarship in honor of Manning's former Broncos teammate Demaryius Thomas. The foundation also launched scholarships at six historically black colleges and universities.
In 2023, it was announced Manning would join Tennessee as a professor in the College of Communication and Information.