Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning speaks during a press conference following the NFL football AFC Championship game between the Denver Broncos and the New England Patriots, Sunday, Jan. 24, 2016, in Denver. The Broncos defeated the Patriots 20-18 to advance to the Super Bowl. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Peyton Manning earned back half of the $4 million pay cut he accepted last winter by leading the Denver Broncos back to the Super Bowl.
He can recoup the rest with a win over Carolina in two weeks.
Manning agreed to GM John Elway’s request that he reduce his 2015 salary to $15 million. But he did so with the caveat that he could earn back every penny by getting to and winning Super Bowl 50.
Each member of the Broncos earned $46,000 Sunday when they beat New England 20-18.
The Super Bowl winners each get $102,000 and the losing team’s individual share is $51,000.
A windfall for some players, pocket change for others.
Manning earned $882,352 each week during the regular season.
Patriots-Bronco a big draw
NEW YORK – The AFC championship game has drawn its second-largest television audience on record.
The Denver Broncos’ down-to-the-wire win over the New England Patriots in what could be the last meeting between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady averaged 53.3 million viewers Sunday on CBS. The network said Monday that trails only the 54.9 million for the 2011 Steelers-Jets matchup, which was played in a later time slot. CBS’s records go back to 1978.
With much of the East Coast digging out from a blizzard, it was the perfect day to draw a big audience.
In the NFC matchup, the Panthers and Cardinals don’t have the history of the Broncos and Patriots, and the outcome was a rout, leading to the unusual occurrence of the early game getting more viewers than the late one. Carolina’s victory averaged 45.7 million viewers, still up from the 42.1 million for New England’s blowout of Indianapolis in the late slot a year ago.
Broncos to wear white
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – The Denver Broncos have chosen to wear their white road uniforms in Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers.
It’s a simple reason: “We’ve had Super Bowl success in our white uniforms,” said John Elway, who was the Broncos’ QB in back-to-back Super Bowl wins in the 1990s and is now their executive VP and general manager. Denver wore its white uniforms in its last Super Bowl win, 34-19 over Atlanta 17 years ago.
The Broncos went 6-2 on the road in 2015, tying a franchise record for most victories away from home.
The AFC is designated the home team in even years.
The Broncos (14-4) face the Panthers (17-1) on Feb. 7 in their record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance.