Peyton Manning retires as NFL’s number one career earner

PEYTON Manning retired as the NFL’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns — but it was another area he was head and shoulders above the pack.

Peyton Manning Announces Retirement

PEYTON Manning retired as the NFL’s leader in passing yards and touchdowns — but it was another area he was head and shoulders above the pack.

While Manning only just shaded Brett Favre in total yards (71,940 to 71,838) and touchdowns (539 to 508), he was in a different stratosphere when it came to career earnings.

During his 18-year NFL career Manning took home $335 million (AUD) in total salary — more than $80 million than his nearest rival, which just happens to be little brother Eli.

NFL’s TOP CAREER EARNERS

Peyton Manning — $334.9 million

Eli Manning — $252.8 million

Tom Brady — $219.2 million

Philip Rivers — $204.5 million

Drew Brees — $202.6 million

Manning signed his first NFL contract in 1998 after being selected by the Indianapolis Colts with the first pick in the draft.

The six-year deal was worth $62.3 million, including a $15.6 signing bonus. By the end of that contract Manning was the NFL’s most valuable player — and he was rewarded for it with the largest contract of his career.

The Colts handed their star man $133.6 million over seven seasons, including a then record $46.5 million signing bonus.

After guiding Indianapolis to the Super Bowl in 2006, a five-year $121.2 million deal followed in 2011, despite Manning making it clear during negotiations he did not need to be the highest-paid player in the NFL.

But he would never play another game for the Colts after signing the deal as his career was jeopardised by neck surgery. Manning missed the entire 2011 season before leaving the Colts — who opted to move on with No. 1 draft pick Andrew Luck — for the Denver Broncos.

Manning signed a five-year $129.3 million deal with the Broncos, winning his fifth league MVP in his second season in Denver while guiding the Colorado-based outfit to a Super Bowl appearance.

At age 39, Manning was forced to take a $5.4 million pay cut ahead of what proved to be his final season. But he recouped that money in bonuses by winning the Super Bowl against the Carolina Panthers.

Archie Manning’s boys have done pretty well for themselves.

While Manning has been extremely well rewarded during his playing days, NFL salary cap restrictions mean his earnings still can’t match what stars from other sports pull in.

NBA veterans Kevin Garnett ($439.4 million) and Kobe Bryant ($435.3 million) are both expected to retire at season’s end with more than $100 million more than Manning in career salary.

But it’s baseball where the big bucks are. Alex Rodriguez has signed two contracts worth more than the total of all of Manning’s on his way to career earnings of $532.1 million.

Of course all of these figures relate purely to what these athletes have been paid to play. It doesn’t include the millions they reap for endorsements — and when it came to sponsorships Manning was one of the best.

Partnerships with the likes of Nike, DirecTV and Buick take Manning’s total earnings past the half billion dollar mark and he also owns 32 pizza bars in the Denver area.

Where he goes from this point remains undecided. American TV networks are expected to offer Manning big dollars to join their broadcast teams but there’s a belief he’d prefer to run his own NFL team.

What’s clear is Manning won’t have to worry about cash for the rest of his life.

Originally published as Peyton Manning retires as NFL’s number one career earner