Will Peyton Manning Retire After the Super Bowl?

It did not take long after Peyton Manning helped lead the Broncos to a Super Bowl 50 victory for him to begin fielding questions about his future. Manning declined to answer whether fans had just seen his last game.

He was interviewed by CBS’s Tracy Wolfson right after the game. Manning again used humor to deflect the attention away from his potential retirement. Manning joked that he wanted to kiss his wife and “drink a lot of Budweiser”:

He was asked again about retiring by Jim Nantz during the trophy presentation. Manning responded by saying he received advice from Tony Dungy to avoid making an “emotional decision” and explained he would take some time to think about it.

The above video shows Manning telling Patriots coach Bill Belichick, “Hey listen, this might be my last rodeo, so, it sure has been a pleasure.” The footage was taken after the Broncos beat the Patriots to advance to Super Bowl 50.

According to the USA Today, Manning tried to deflect the attention with a bit of humor on the Super Bowl’s media night. “No, you totally missed the point. I am going to go participate in the rodeo now. I’ve been working on the lasso, I’ve got the cowboy hat. So you totally, totally missed the point there,” Manning joked.

One thing that seems to be a given is that this will be Manning’s last game with the Broncos. He is slated to make $19 million next season, and the Broncos are fond of Brock Osweiler who played well for Denver during Manning’s absence. Osweiler comes at a much cheaper price.

Peyton’s father, Archie, admitted that if Manning decides to play next season it will be for another team. Archie spoke with ESPN about his son’s future:

If he is good and healthy, can he play? I think he pretty much knows that it wouldn’t be with the Broncos and that would be another thing, to change teams. Now, he had some offers last year from teams, some teams talked to him, but I think that was going to be a lot of drama, again, to change teams, that he didn’t want to go through. He did do that once, so I don’t know that he would want to do that.”

According to The Indy Channel, Peyton’s brother Eli Manning noted that fans should not expect an announcement from his brother even if the Broncos win the Super Bowl.

“I don’t think it’s going to be announcement Sunday night. 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,” he said.

All indications are that Super Bowl 50 will be Manning’s last game with a small window left open for him playing with another team next season. Keep it here for the latest on Manning’s decision.