Peyton Manning

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American football quarterback for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). A five-time league MVP, he played for the Indianapolis Colts for 14 seasons between 1998-2011. He is a son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and an elder brother of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Manning played college football for the University of Tennessee, leading the Volunteers to the 1997 SEC Championship in his senior season. However, No. 3 Tennessee lost to the No. 2 Nebraska Cornhuskers 42-17 in the Orange Bowl giving Nebraska and Tom Osborne their 3rd national championship in 4 years. He was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts with the first overall pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. Manning's playing career and statistics have ranked him among the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. From 1998 to 2010, he led the Colts to eight (seven AFC South and one AFC East) division championships, two AFC championships, and one Super Bowl championship (Super Bowl XLI). His five NFL MVPs are a league record, he was the most valuable player of Super Bowl XLI, has been named to thirteen Pro Bowls, has thirteen 4,000-yard passing seasons, and is the Indianapolis Colts' all-time leader in passing yards (54,828) and touchdown passes (399). In 2009, he was named the best player in the NFL, and Fox Sports, along with Sports Illustrated, named him the NFL player of the decade for the 2000s. Before the 2013 season had even finished, SI had named him their Sportsman of the Year.

In May 2011, he underwent neck surgery to alleviate neck pain and arm weakness he dealt with during the previous few seasons before signing a five-year, $90 million contract extension with the Colts in July 2011. Manning had hoped to play in the 2011 season, but in September 2011 he underwent a second, and much more serious surgery: a level one cervical fusion procedure. Manning had never missed an NFL game in his career, but was forced to miss the entire 2011 season. He was released by the Colts on March 7, 2012, and after an almost two-week period where he visited with and worked out for several NFL teams, he signed with the Denver Broncos on March 20, 2012. On October 19, 2014, he broke Brett Favre's record for most career TDs when he threw his 509th touchdown pass, in a game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Manning's pre-snap routine has earned him the nickname "The Sheriff", and he is one of the most recognizable and parodied players in the NFL. Teams led by Manning more often than not use the hurry-up offense in place of the standard huddle.

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