Peyton Manning: Joining the Denver Broncos Is the Biggest Mistake of His Career

The San Francisco 49ers were two special team blunders away from a Super Bowl appearance. Take away one of Tim Tebow’s miracle comeback victories or a 59-yard Matt Prater field goal and the Denver Broncos finish with a losing record.  

The 49ers have the NFL’s most feared defense. The Broncos defense finished in the bottom half for both points per game and total yards against.

If given a choice between the two it’s a no brainer.

The 49ers are among the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl next season even with a mediocre quarterback leading their team. They are the team that is a quarterback away from contending for a Super Bowl; yet, 36-year old quarterback Peyton Manning chose to sign with the Broncos, a team that appears years away from being a serious threat in the AFC.

Why did Manning choose the Broncos? Does he even care about winning? Does he realize at most he has four seasons left?

These are the questions you’d think Manning would have considered when choosing the team he in all likelihood will end his career with. He was given the chance to hand pick a team, and instead of using the opportunity to go for a few more Super Bowl rings, he threw it away and played it safe.

One can only speculate the reasoning behind Manning’s decision.

Manning played his entire career in the AFC and feels comfortable in the conference. He’s a player obsessed with routine and preparation. Staying in the conference he knows, playing against the teams he’s battled over the years is where Manning feels safe and has flourished.

Manning seemed to make a good connection with the Broncos coaching staff and vice president of football operations John Elway. In Denver, Manning will be given full control of the offense as opposed to if he went to San Francisco where head coach Jim Harbaugh is the man in charge.

Whether he’ll admit it or not, money may have been a factor in Manning’s choice to join the Broncos. The Broncos reportedly are going to give Manning a deal somewhere in the range of 5 years and $90 million.

That is most likely the highest offer Manning was given, and we all know money is the one thing professional athletes love even more than winning.

The final possibility and one that is entirely likely is that Manning was scared. He knew that if he joined the 49ers, expectations would have been astronomical.

If Manning was unable to win a ring with the team he would be viewed as a choke and a failure. At this stage of his career, Manning might not have wanted to deal with those expectations and may have been content putting up big numbers in Denver for an average team.

If any of these reasons are true than I have lost all respect for Peyton Manning. I have always viewed Manning as someone who cares only about winning even though on many occasions he has come up short when it matters most.

He was given a rare chance at the end of his career to hand pick a team to join and knowing that his NFL life is winding down, you can assume he would try and win another championship. To do this he would have to join a team that can win right away and San Francisco is that team.

Right now, Manning’s legacy is the greatest statistical quarterback in NFL history, but also someone who routinely came up short in the postseason.

At 36 years old, he chose comfort and money over winning and enhancing his legacy. Does being comfortable and adding to his already substantial wealth mean more than his place among the all time greats?

Manning might win the division with Denver, and he might even win a playoff game over the next few seasons. With San Francisco however, he would have instantly been on a Super Bowl caliber team with the ability to contend in the NFC for as long as he was there.