Peyton Manning Makes Fake Retirement Announcement With Papa John’s Pitch

Denver Broncos quarterback and Papa John’s Pizza pitchman Peyton Manning made a public appearance on Wednesday night to give a speech about leadership during a conference in Jacksonville, Fla. After quickly realizing that the audience’s interest was on a different subject, Manning opened the floor by addressing the elephant in the room.

Peyton Manning Makes Fake Retirement Announcement

“Many of you have probably heard that I have a significant announcement to make, so I thought I’d go ahead and make it with all of you here tonight,” Manning said, before deadpanning: “Papa John’s is offering 50 percent off tonight through Friday.

“I’m sure that was the response you were looking for,” the QB then added. Not exactly.

Manning, 39, has been debating his retirement from the NFL after 18 seasons. He and the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers at Super Bowl 50 in Santa Clara, California on Feb. 7, 2016. Manning has now won two Super Bowl titles.

A decision is expected to come soon. Manning’s $19 million base salary for 2016 will be guaranteed at 4 p.m. ET Tuesday, and an announcement on his future could come at any time between now and then.

It has been speculated that Manning could potentially be released by the Broncos if he hasn’t come to a decision by this deadline. His decision will likely most affect backup QB Brock Osweiler, who filled in well when Manning missed seven weeks with an injury last season.

Osweiler, 25, is set to become a free agent on March 9, and the team is unwilling and/or unable to pay him the market rate if Manning is going to be on the roster in 2016, under any type of contract.

Manning has been unwilling to explicitly state his post-career plans. When asked about this during the conference, Manning simply said:

“Hard to say. One reason I’ve enjoyed my current job so much is, I’ve been all in.”