Friday 18 March 2016 17:15, UK
Peyton Manning will be honoured with a statue in his likeness outside the Indianapolis Colts’ stadium, franchise owner Jim Irsay confirmed.
The legend's old No 18 jersey will also follow him into retirement as a tribute from his first NFL franchise.
The statue will stand outside Lucas Oil Stadium, the facility often nicknamed 'The House That Peyton Built' because it became the Colts' home during Manning's pomp in 2008.
I'll always be a Colt, so I can't tell you how special this news is to me.
Manning won his first Super Bowl with the Colts in the 2006 season, eight years after the franchise drafted him as their No 1 pick. He played in Indianapolis from 1998 until 2011 before moving to the Denver Broncos.
"I'll always be a Colt, so I can't tell you how special this news is to me," Manning said during a press conference in Indianapolis on Friday.
"I just can't tell you how honoured and humbled I am, and how much fun I had playing here for 14 years. Just thank you very much from the bottom of my heart."
Irsay added: "I can't say enough to what he has meant for this franchise, to this city and state. You just run out of words thinking about how much No 18 means to us."
The 39-year-old brought the curtain down on his illustrious career after winning his second career Super Bowl in February when the Broncos defeated the Carolina Panthers.
