Former Colts star Peyton Manning points out a play during a game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.Peyton Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history, will continue his career with the Denver Broncos, concluding a fevered free-agent pursuit and at the same time perhaps accomplishing something that seemed unthinkable just three months ago: the end of the Broncos career of Tim Tebow.
The wait for Manning’s decision, which was confirmed Monday by two people briefed on the negotiations, captivated the league for the nearly two weeks since the Indianapolis Colts released him. Now he will replace Tebow, the quarterback who became a sports and cultural phenomenon last season with a style of play that could not be less like Manning’s.
In the wake of the Broncos’ playoff loss to the New England Patriots in January, the Denver owner, Pat Bowlen, remarked that it had been a good season but not a great one. Manning, a four-time league Most Valuable Player who missed all of last season with a neck injury, gives the Broncos a chance at a great season – certainly a better chance than the Broncos believed they would have had with Tebow.
The Broncos have declined to comment until Manning’s contract, which was still being completed Monday, is finished. The Denver Post reported that the deal could be for as many as five years and as much as $90 million, although the amount of guaranteed money, and what provisions will be in place to protect the Broncos in case Manning’s neck injury prevents him from playing, are unclear.
Manning, who will turn 36 on Saturday, was wooed to the Broncos by the only quarterback who will remain bigger than him in Denver, John Elway, who won two Super Bowls as a Bronco and is now the team’s top football executive.