Peyton Manning is Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year.
Manning has led Denver to an 11-3 record this year, his second with the Broncos after missing the 2011 season with Indianapolis because of neck troubles that affected his right triceps. He has thrown 47 touchdown passes, three shy of Tom Brady’s NFL season record.
“At first, when I knew we were considering Manning, I thought: good choice. Lifetime-achievement-award choice,” said SI Senior Writer Peter King, who made the announcement during halftime of Sunday nights’ Steelers-Bengals game on NBC.
“But if you isolate this year, you’re looking at a player two years removed from four neck procedures that would have prompted many 35-year-old legends to choose retirement. He has his Super Bowl. He has his MVPs. Now he’s on the verge of breaking the most important single-season quarterback records (touchdown passes and passing yards) in the 94-year history of the game. He threw seven touchdown passes against the defending Super Bowl champs. And he’s got his team set to win the top seed in the AFC. Who plays his best — wounded, with so many great young guns chasing him — at 37?”
Presenting 2013’s #SISportsman of the Year: @Broncos Quarterback Peyton Manning http://t.co/Nq66RFKKFi pic.twitter.com/ityqMCUo4i
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) December 16, 2013
According to King, both Mariano Rivera and David Ortiz were also considered. Chris Stone, SI’s managing editor, told DenverBroncos.com that the magazine took Manning’s entire career into consideration before making a final decision.
“To some degree, we’re taking a measure of Peyton’s entire career, dating all the way to college,” he said. “He's had three stops since college — Knoxville, Indianapolis and Denver. What really strikes you beyond that consistently excellent performance is the way he's connected with all three of those communities in a really profound way.”
Manning is the fourth NFL quarterback to take the honor in the last nine years, following Brady in 2005, Brett Favre in 2007 and Drew Brees in 2010. In all, nine NFL personalities have been given the award. LeBron James was the winner last year.
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