Peyton Manning, Super Bowl-winning quarterback and four-time NFL Most Valuable Player, is a leader and a champion both on and off the field.
Since joining the Indianapolis Colts as the first overall pick in the 1998 draft, Peyton has earned his place among the NFL’s greatest quarterbacks. He earned NFL MVP honors in 2003, 2004, 2008 and 2009, becoming the only player in NFL history to be named MVP four times. Peyton has made nine Pro Bowl appearances and been named to the Associated Press NFL All-Pro First Team four times, including three consecutive seasons from 2003-05.
Manning holds NFL records for consecutive seasons with over 4,000 yards passing and the most total seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career. He also holds the third-highest career passer rating (95.2) among active quarterbacks, and ranks fourth all-time behind only Steve Young (96.8), Phillip Rivers (95.8), and Tony Romo (95.6). He is the all-time Colts franchise leader in career wins, career passing yards, pass attempts, pass completions, and passing touchdowns.
In 2009, Manning was listed by The Sporting News as the No. 1 player in the NFL and in the same year Fox Sports named him 'Player of the Decade'.
On February 4, 2007, Manning led the Colts to a 29-17 victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI, winning MVP honors in the championship contest.
He has proven time and time again that he does whatever it takes to win a game…but doing whatever it takes is more than what is done on the field. Peyton considers his most important accomplishments to be those he has achieved off the field. In 1999, Peyton established The PeyBack Foundation to promote the future success of disadvantaged youth by assisting established programs that provide leadership and growth opportunities for children at risk. The Foundation funds various programs in Indiana, Louisiana and Tennessee and has distributed more than $3 million in grants since 2002, including $606,000 in April of 2008 to 120 youth based organizations. The Foundation provides assistance to programs such as Boys & Girls Clubs, area food banks, after-school programs, and summer camps.
The PeyBack Foundation has also established the PeyBack Award which is presented to someone currently or formerly involved in professional football who exhibits character, integrity, honor and who has given back to the game and society. Past recipients of the PeyBack Award include Gale Sayers, Marshall Faulk, Derrick Brooks, Roger Staubach, Dan Marino and Connie Payton, wife of the late Walter Payton.
Since his arrival in Indianapolis, Peyton has had a longstanding relationship with St. Vincent’s Hospital. On September 5, 2007, in recognition of his ongoing commitment to giving back to children and the community, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis renamed its children's hospital to "Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent". Peyton has demonstrated his commitment to children by establishing the “True Heroes” program, which provides monthly events and parties for pediatric patients. He has also made countless private visits to St.Vincent patients and families, participated in children’s holiday parties and served as a spokesperson for various child health and safety initiatives.
In recognition of his tremendous continuous contributions, Peyton was the recipient of the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award, USA Weekend’s Most Caring Athlete Award, the Bryon “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award and was named the 2005 Walter Payton Man of the Year by the NFL. These distinguished honors serve as a reminder of all the good that Peyton and the PeyBack Foundation have done over the years and are an indication of all the good that will continue to be done for many years to come.
Peyton Williams Manning was on born March 24, 1976 in New Orleans, Louisiana. During his tenure at the University of Tennessee, Peyton epitomized the term “student-athlete.” He claimed 43 records at the school, conference and national levels while graduating with Phi Beta Kappa honors. Peyton passed up the NFL after his junior season and the near-certain opportunity to be chosen first in the NFL Draft to remain in school for a fourth year and forever set him apart. He was a three-time Academic All-America honoree. Following his senior season, Peyton was honored with the Sullivan Award for the nation’s top amateur athlete based on character, leadership, athletic ability and the ideals of amateurism.
