An emotional Peyton Manning stepped to a podium in Colorado today to formally announce his retirement from the National Football League today. The legendary quarterback did his best to thank everyone that he’s come into contact with throughout his 18 years in the NFL, not counting his time at the University of Tennessee.
Peyton managed to keep the tears at bay throughout his 12 minute speech, but you can hear his voice crack more than once as he recounted the many memories he’s accrued during his time in the NFL. It’s a touching moment for fans to see someone they’ve watched for so many years get as emotional about the game as the fans. No one asked Manning about the ill-fated HGH allegations, but a reporter did ask (vaguely) about the sexual assault allegations that recently came back into the public eye. Manning kept his response short, quoting his spirit animal Forrest Gump as he quickly moved on from the subject.
We’d like to add our own favorite Peyton Manning memory below: when Peyton put on Emmanuel Sanders’ chains and was goaded into dabbing by his teammates.
