Peyton Manning: I Haven't Had 'Serious Conversations' About Broncos Ownership Stake

If the Denver Broncos are put up for sale, don't expect former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Peyton Manning to be in the running.

"I haven't had any serious conversations with anyone," he said Sunday, per Nick Kosmider of The Athletic. "Certainly there's been some people who have called me who have said, 'Hey, what do you think is going to happen with the Broncos? Are you going to own the team?' I'm like, 'I keep looking for that $3 billion in my pocket. I can't find it. I think it's in a hidden account somewhere.'"

Manning added that even if he were offered an ownership stake in the team, he's unsure if he would take it. 

"I have no relationship or agreement with anybody," he said. "Even if I am offered an opportunity, I haven't decided whether I would actually do it. I like what I'm doing now. I get to stay close to the game. ... I still get to do everything on a one-year-at-a-time basis. Next year, who knows how I'll feel? I'll always be a part of the Broncos in some way."

Manning, who spent the final four seasons of his career with the Broncos and won a Super Bowl with the organization, was inducted into the team's Ring of Fame on Sunday. 

That followed Manning's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. 

As for the Broncos, it is believed that the team will be put up for sale after the 2021 season, following a legal battle between Beth Bowlen Wallace—the daughter of the late Pat Bowlen—and the controlling trust Bowlen put in charge of the team in July 2013, composed of president and CEO Joe Ellis, team counsel Rich Slivka and Denver attorney Mary Kelly.

"Our goal is to be able to lay out, when the season is over, for everybody a timeline for transition of ownership that will take place next year, prior to the start of the season," Ellis told reporters in July.

Certainly, Manning would be a popular choice among fans to find his way into an ownership group. But for now, it doesn't sound like he has plans of that nature.