Patrick Smyth, Executive Director of Media Relations ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5536) Rebecca Villanueva, Media Services Manager ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5598) Erich Schubert, Media Relations Coordinator ([email protected] / 303‐264‐5503) PEYTON MANNING INTRODUCTORY PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES (3/20/12) OWNER AND CEO PAT BOWLEN “Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. This is a very historic meeting today. We’re very fortunate to have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in this room. One is already in. The other is definitely going in after he retires. Peyton is one of the best ever to play this game. I feel very fortunate to have him here. Our goal has always been to win Super Bowls; Peyton gives us a chance to win another world championship. I’m thrilled that he has decided to become a Denver Bronco. This is a great day for me, personally, and for our organization, our city and our fans.” EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF FOOTBALL OPERATIONS JOHN ELWAY “Before we bring Peyton up here, I just want to welcome everybody and just reiterate what Mr. Bowlen just said; it was just over a year ago when I was fortunate enough to have the job that I have now, and one of the things he said when I took this job was, ‘I want to compete for Super Bowls.’ I was dead honest with him and I said, ‘I’m not going to take the job unless we have that opportunity.’ I will say this, we’re all so fortunate to work for a guy like Pat Bowlen because, as he said, his goal is to win world championships and he’s the one that creates the culture and everything that goes on in this building and that’s all about winning and winning world championships. I’d like to say without the commitment of Mr. Bowlen, we wouldn’t have Peyton here today. I think what Peyton saw on his trip here when he got to know everybody and met everybody in the building and got a feel for the culture of what we have here in Denver, he spent time in Denver and realizes what a great fan base we have and how enthusiastic our fans are about the Denver Broncos. Really, we didn’t try to sell him hard. We wanted him to feel comfortable here and a place he would want to come and work. We’re so fortunate that he picked the Denver Broncos. I believe that he has a lot of great football left in him and we’ve had many conversations not only when he was on his visit, but the week after that in talking different things about football and what he was looking for and what we could give him. As I said, we’re thrilled that he’s elected to play for the Denver Broncos. We think it’s a great situation. He’s a guy, as Pat said, that is a Hall of Famer. What I told him in the process was my goal is to make Peyton Manning the best quarterback that has ever played the game and he’s got that ability with the football he has left. He’s going to have that ability and we told him we’re going to do everything we can to compete for world championships. It starts with Mr. [Bowlen] and now it starts with Peyton and he’s a guy that raises our boats. He’s a guy that will make our team, and has already made our team better and they haven’t all met him yet, just the kind of person he is, his reputation, and what he’s done in this league. He will have a tremendous effect on the Denver Broncos and I couldn’t be happier that he’s chose to play for us. With that said, I’ll introduce the next quarterback of the Denver Broncos, Peyton Manning.” ©2012 Denver Broncos Football Club. All rights reserved. The individual quotes cited in this document may be used for the purpose of news reporting and other fair uses as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act. Duplication or posting of this quote sheet, in its entirety, or any other use of this material which is not a fair use as defined by Section 107 of the Copyright Act is strictly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Denver Broncos Football Club. QUARTERBACK PEYTON MANNING “Thank you very much, John. Thank you, Mr. Bowlen. I’m very excited to begin the next chapter of my playing career with the Denver Broncos. Starting with Mr. Bowlen, I can tell this organization is committed to winning. The Broncos, they do have incredible fans that love this team, and this truly is a special football environment and I am glad to be a part of it. I really appreciate and am grateful for the time that was given to me by several very impressive organizations and individuals throughout this process. In the end, I felt the Broncos were just a great fit. I always have had a great deal of respect for John Elway. He’s one of the best quarterbacks to ever play and his knowledge and respect for the game is evident in everything he does. Talking football with John and with Coach Fox and his staff helped me realize that this is a great place to be. I called John Elway on Monday morning and let him know that I wanted to be a Denver Bronco. I am thrilled to be here and I’m looking forward to meeting my new teammates and doing everything I can to help this franchise win another Super Bowl. “I’m going to wear No. 18 for the Broncos. I had the privilege of speaking with Frank Tripucka this morning. It really goes against everything I believe in being a guy who appreciates the history of football and I believe when a number is retired it should stay retired; but in talking to Frank Tripucka, I feel he really wants me to wear his number. It was a very humbling conversation and I am honored to wear his number, being another quarterback for the Denver Broncos as Mr. Tripucka was back years ago as the first quarterback to play here. It truly is an honor for me and I’m really following his wishes to wear it because that’s what he wants me to do and I’m honored to do that. So, thank you very much and I will be glad to answer your questions.” On when he knew he would become a Denver Bronco “I woke up Monday morning and at first I called two other teams that had kind of gotten down to finalists in this process and let them know, like I said earlier, I truly appreciate the time that they took with me and I really enjoyed talking football with some other teams throughout this process. I think the NFL is in great shape with some great owners, great coaches and great people in leadership. That was exciting for me, but I had my first visit here. I felt very comfortable here. The thing with Coach Fox, as John [Elway] had already talked about, is that both sides had to be comfortable. If neither side was comfortable, then I think winning probably wouldn’t follow. So I felt very comfortable here, John and Coach Fox felt comfortable, and hopefully that leads to many wins.” On the deciding factors “There really wasn’t one deciding factor. I really felt—the tough decisions I’ve had to make, where to go to college, whether to stay or go my senior year—you have options and you really believe that you can make any of them work. I’ve always believed that it’s up to me and the people here around me to make this the right decision. It will be speculated on and debated for months to come, whether it was the right decision or not. I will go out and try to make it the right decision. I’m looking forward to getting to work right away. I will get to work with the strength staff and the training staff right after this press conference ends to go to work and stay here through the week and try to get situated. That’s what I’m looking forward to, is going to work, and I can tell that Denver was committed to winning and I’m glad they wanted me to be a part of that.” On his family’s input on the decision “Like I said, everything about Denver, the time I’ve spent out here and they have great football fans. I’ve really spent a lot of time on the football side of it. Sitting down with [Offensive Coordinator Mike] McCoy and [Quarterbacks] Coach [Adam] Gase and Coach Fox talking football and talking offensive philosophy and those are the things I really wanted to get comfortable with. I knew these guys knew what they were doing and were committed to winning and that was very important to me.” On how his relationship with John Elway factored into his decision “Certainly I have had a relationship with John and it goes back a long way, but I’ve seen John now in a different role. I’ve always seen him as a quarterback, never had to play against him, but that’s always the role I saw him as. Now I’ve seen him as a leader of a franchise and I really like what he had to say.