DENVER — Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning, who was behind center for the Denver Broncos‘ Super Bowl 50 win to close out the 2015 season, said Sunday he is not currently involved with any potential new ownership groups for the team and wouldn’t know what he would say if he was asked to be.
Manning, who attends most Broncos home games as a fan, was honored at a pregame ceremony as the newest member of the team’s Ring of Fame.
Because of a dispute among late owner Pat Bowlen’s children about how the ownership of the team should be constructed, the Broncos are expected to be sold next year if the children can’t agree on which of them should be the majority owner. Pat Bowlen died in 2019.
The team has been operated by the Pat Bowlen Trust since 2014 when Bowlen, due to the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease, stepped away from the day-to-day operations. Manning’s name has consistently come up in almost any public discussion about the team’s future in recent months.
“I haven’t had any serious conversations with anyone,” Manning said Sunday. “Certainly, there’s some people who have called me and said ‘Hey, what do you think is going to happen with the Broncos? Are you going to try to own the team? I keep looking for that $3 billion in my pocket, I can’t find it, I think it’s in a hidden account somewhere. That’s not really on my radar.
“People are obviously interested, they’re curious,” Manning added. “I care because I live here and I go to the games, and I want to know what’s going to happen like everyone else. But I have no relationship or agreement with anybody.”
Manning, who has multiple charitable endeavors as well as his series Peyton’s Places and the Manning Cast on Monday Night Football, with his brother Eli, also said Sunday he enjoys the schedule he has now.
“Even if I’m offered an opportunity, I haven’t decided if I would even do it,” Manning said. “I actually like what I’m doing now. I get to stay close to the game … I get to coach [son] Marshall’s flag football team, I went to a doubleheader softball game to see [daughter] Mosley play. I’m just taking everything on a one year at a time basis, next year who knows how I’ll feel … But I’ll always be a part of the Broncos, I’ll say that.”
Manning played four seasons with the Broncos (2012-2015) after signing in free agency. With them, he won 45 regular-season games, four AFC West titles, went to two Super Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 — his final NFL game. Manning was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.