Peyton Manning Ends Retirement Speech Quoting Timothy 4:7: 'I've Finished My Football Race'
Two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning officially announced the end of his 18-year NFL career on Monday with a heartfelt retirement speech in which he concluded by referencing a passage from scripture and asking God to bless the game he loves so much.
Manning, who has never been very expressive of his Christian faith on the football field, did not hide from his faith during his remarks at the retirement news conference hosted by the Denver Broncos.
As Manning has accomplished just about every accolade imaginable for a quarterback, broken a number of all-time records and can end his career as a reigning Super Bowl champion, Manning ended his speech by quoting Timothy 4:7 to explain to his fans and supporters that he has "fought the good fight" and has "finished the race."
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"There's a scripture reading, 2 Timothy 4:7: I have fought the good fight and I have finished the race. I have kept the faith," Manning said during his speech. "Well, I've fought a good fight. I've finished my football race and after 18 years, it's time. God bless all of you and God bless football."
Although Manning's football career is now over, the 39-year-old New Orleans native assured that God has other plans for him in his life.
"I'm totally convinced that the end of my football career is just the beginning of something I haven't even discovered yet," Manning said earlier in the speech. "Life is not shrinking for me, it's morphing into a whole new world of possibilities."
Even though Manning is ready to advance to the next phase in his life, he said he will undoubtedly miss the joy and many blessings the game of football has provided him throughout for most of his life.
"I'll miss that handshake with Tom Brady and I'll miss the plane rides after a big win with 53 teammates standing in the aisles, laughing and celebrating during the whole flight," Manning detailed. "I'll miss playing in front of so many great fans both at home and on the road. I'll even miss the Patriots fans in Foxborough, and they should miss me because they sure did get a lot of wins off of me."
"And this is important, football fans everywhere need to know how much they mean to me over the years," Manning continued. "Fans, you're at the core of what makes this game remarkable. I've received more letters from you than I can count. Fan letters that have touched me, made me think, laugh and moved me to act."
Manning added that the game of football taught him to appreciate the little things in life.
"When someone thoroughly exhausts an experience they can't help but revere it. I revere football. I love the game. So you don't have to wonder if I'll miss it. Absolutely. Absolutely I will," Manning said. "Our children are small now, but as they grow up, we're going to teach them to enjoy the little things in life because one day they will look back and discover that those really were the big things.
"So here are the seemingly little things that when I look into my rearview mirror, have grown much bigger," Manning added.
