Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning sidestepped a retirement question following his Super Bowl 50 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
“I’m going to take some time to reflect,” Manning told the CBS sideline reporter. “I got a couple priorities first. I want to go kiss my wife and my kids, I want to go hug my family. I’m going to drink a lot of Budweiser.”
Manning completed 13 of 23 passes for 141 yards and an interception - a 56.6 passer rating - in Sunday’s win.
Most people expect Manning, at 39 the oldest quarterback to win the Super Bowl, to retire, as his boss, Broncos general manager John Elway, did after winning back-to-back championships in the 1997 and 1998 seasons.
And like Elway, Manning was not able to ascend the peak again until he got the kind of help he rarely had in his career. In Elway’s case, it was the great running of Terrell Davis. In Manning’s case, it was Denver’s league-leading defense, led by Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller.
Manning was selected the NFL’s Most Valuable Player a record five times (four times as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, once with the Broncos). He was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 14 times and chosen first-team All-Pro seven times. He also holds the NFL record for career touchdown passes and career passing yards.
Manning’s family wasn’t surprised he didn’t commit to a future in football.
New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning is waiting like the rest of the world to find out whether big brother Peyton Manning will make Super Bowl 50 on Sunday his final game.
“I don’t think it’s going to be (an immediate) announcement Sunday night,” Eli Manning said Friday.
“I don’t think he’s even thought about it. He’ll take some time when the season is over. It’s all football right now.”
Eli Manning was on the field Sunday. He’s one of the living Super Bowl MVPs scheduled honored during pregame.
