It’s been 13 years since Peyton Manning became a Bronco
Mar 20, 2025, 12:08 PM
The Denver Broncos made the greatest free agency signing in franchise history 13 years ago today when they brought The Sheriff to the Mile High City. After the 2011 season in which Tim Tebow didn’t eclipse the 2,000-yard mark, then-general manager John Elway know that the team needed an elite quarterback in order to reach the same heights he led the team to in 1997 and 1998.
Peyton Manning was available on the market after the Colts cut him in 2012 due to injury risks and the uncertainty around the new contract extension he had signed with Indianapolis. He had gone through two neck surgeries to repair his spine which had been originally injured in 2006 and had been dealing with for years. He had reached a point where he was barely able throw the football, much less grip it.
Elway knew this was a risk. Manning had missed an entire season of football, and people weren’t sure whether or not his surgically-repaired neck would hold up against the physicality of the NFL, despite being a four-time MVP and a Super Bowl champion by that point in his career.
Elway didn’t care an signed Manning to a five-year, $96 million contract. The rest is history.
Manning threw for at least 4,600 yards in each of his first three years in Denver, highlighted by his one-of-a-kind 2013 campaign in which he eclipsed 5,400 yards while throwing for 55 touchdowns. He won his fifth MVP that season and led the Broncos to an AFC Championship.
In 2015, despite only playing in 10 games in the regular season, Manning came back for the postseason and was able to to enough to lead the Broncos to their third Super Bowl in franchise history. While father time had caught up to him, he was still one of the smartest players on the field, and his efforts against the Carolina Panthers helped pay off the investment Elway had made four years prior.
Since retiring in 2016, Manning has become an icon in the city of Denver. Whether it’s showing his face at a Denver Nuggets game or popping up at a local restaurant, he’s shown that Denver is home.
Manning is a member of both the Broncos Ring of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and was inducted into both in 2021.
It’s been a long road for the Broncos, especially at the quarterback position, since Manning’s retirement, but the team finally has its answer in Bo Nix. With various free agent signings in recent weeks aimed at patching the holes on Denver’s roster, the front office has one goal in mind, reciprocating the success Manning brought to Denver.
