Indianapolis Colts to Build Peyton Manning Statue, Retire Number

In a press conference Friday afternoon, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay announced that the organization will be honoring recently retired quarterback Peyton Manning. The team will erect a statue of Manning outside of Lucas Oil Stadium and also retire his number 18.

Manning will also go into the team’s Ring of Honor this year.

He will be the eight Colt to have his number retired and the 13th member of the Ring of Honor.

Peyton Manning was drafted by the Colts with the first overall pick in 1998. He holds the franchise records for all time passing yards, passing touchdown, completion percentage, passing completions, and passing attempts records.

At the press conference, Manning reiterated that he will “always be a Colt.”

Manning currently sits as the NFL’s all time leaders in both career passing yards (71,940) and passing touchdowns (539). He also is the single season leader in both of those categories.

He’s been selected to 14 Pro Bowls and seven All Pro teams. During his 18 year career he won a record five MVP awards while also receiving two Offensive Player of the Year recognitions.

He won won Super Bowl XLI with the Colts and recently Super Bowl 50 with the Broncos prior to retiring

Manning holds 49 NFL regular season records and 13 playoff records. He has also led the NFL in passing touchdowns four times in his career.

He was able to accomplish all of this despite missing a season following major neck surgery. His career was feared over at one point and a single hit could have reportedly caused major damage.

No date for the statue dedication, jersey retirement, or Ring of Honor induction has been announced yet by the Indianapolis Colts.