What You Should Know About Peyton Manning Football

Introduction

Peyton Manning is considered to be one of the best quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL). He comes from a family or professional football players, was a first round NFL draft pick and has won several championships, a Super Bowl and many Most Valuable Player awards. Here is a look at the life, football career and everything else you should know about Peyton Manning.

History

Peyton Williams Manning was born in New Orleans, Louisiana to Olivia and Archie Manning. He was the second of three sons for the couple. Manning's younger brother, Eli, is a quarterback for the New York Giants. His older brother, Cooper, was a top high school football player, but a spinal stenosis diagnosis before college prevented him from going any further in his career. The boys' father was a notable NFL quarterback as well.

Manning grew up in New Orleans, attending Isidore Newman High School, where he won several awards and became a top college football prospect. It was thought that he would attend his father's alma mater, the University of Mississippi, but Peyton chose to become a University of Tennessee Volunteer instead. Manning broke many records while at Tennessee and became the school's top passer of all time. He also led the team to win an SEC Championship in 1997.

Despite completing his Bachelor's degree in speech communications in only three years, Manning chose to ride out his senior year with the Vols. The school retired his number and named a street outside of the stadium after him. In 1998, Peyton Manning was the number one pick in the NFL draft. He was chosen by the Indianapolis Colts. 

 

The NFL

Peyton Manning spent the next twelve years playing football for the Indianapolis Colts. It took a few years for him to become comfortable in this role, but by 2003, he had led the team to the play-offs. The Colts made it all the way to the AFC Championship where they were defeated by the New England Patriots, a team that would soon become one of Manning's arch rivals. Manning won several awards that year, including AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September. He also went to the Pro Bowl.

Over the next few years, the Colts would continue to make it to the play-offs under Peyton's leadership, and he continued to win numerous individual awards. But it wasn't until 2006 that the team won the Super Bowl. The Colts beat the Chicago Bears with a score of 27 to 19, and Manning became the Super Bowl MVP. In 2009, Manning and the Colts played the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl XLIV, but the Saints won the game.

In May, 2011, Peyton Manning underwent neck surgery, but his recovery did not go as expected. By the start of the season, the Colts had hired retired quarterback Kerry Collins as their starter, and Manning underwent a second surgery. Many feared his football playing days were over as he sat out the entire 2011 season. Some speculated that he would turn to coaching or announcing. However, in March, 2012, Manning left the Colts and signed a 96 million dollar contract with the Denver Broncos.

 

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