is retiring. He informed the of his decision on Saturday night, reports , and there will be an official announcement on Monday. 's Chris Mortensen first reported the news.The latest from SportsLine"When you look at everything Peyton has accomplished as a player and person, its easy to see how fortunate weve been to have him on our team, executive vice president and general manager John Elway said in a . Peyton was everything that we thought he was and even more -- not only for the football team but in the community. Im very thankful Peyton chose to play for the Denver Broncos, and I congratulate him on his Hall of Fame career.Coach Gary Kubiak added:"It was a ble sing to coach Peyton Manning. Nobody worked harder at the game and nobody prepared harder than Peyton. His preparation was the best Ive ever seen with how he went about his busine s. There was nothing like Fernando Valenzuela Jersey his work habits. Each and every week, he did everything he could to get ready to play not only against the defense but even against the coordinator. Being with him this season, going through what we went through and accomplishing what we accomplished -- that was special. He and I battled together and along the way we talked about dreaming that it could end the way it ended. And Ill be damned, it did."Since the Broncos won Super Bowl 50 last month, there have been weekly reports that Manning was going to call it a career. And now, after 18 seasons, 71,940 regular-season pa sing yards, 539 touchdowns and two Lombardi Trophies, it's a wrap. Manning will go down as one of the best players in NFL history, and in just over five years, he'll be in Canton, Ohio giving his Hall of Fame speech.Details of how the retirement came about, via CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora.Manning called team president Joe Ellis, Elway and Kubiak to let them know his plans, but La Canfora writes that, despite recent media rumblings that Manning might continue his career, the decision was fully expected. His friends, family and agent had all Enrique Hernandez Jersey urged him to retire. If Manning hadn't retired, the Broncos were going to release him this week.Why did Manning retire now? The 2016 season is still six months off.Like most things, it came down to money. If Manning was still on the roster on March 9, the official start of the new league year, his $19 million base salary ($21.5 million cap number) would become fully guaranteed. That's a lot to pay any player, especially a 39-year-old quarterback who had his worse season as a profe sional in 2015. In terms of nostalgic parallels, Manning's retirement dovetails nicely with that of Broncos general manager John Elway, who at 38, walked off into the sunset following the Broncos' Super Bowl title following the 1998 season. (One huge difference: .)So what are the Broncos going to do in a post-Manning world?The first order of busine s seems to be re-signing , their 2012 second-round pick who started seven games in 2015 while Manning was sidelined with a foot injury. Osweiler was serviceable (170 of 275, 1,967 yards, 10 TDs, 6 INTs), and at 25 the expectation is that he will Justin Turner Jersey get better. But the Broncos don't want to pay a good young prospect franchise-quarterback money.The expectation is that Osweiler will earn a contract that pays him at least $15 million annually (there's reportedly a ), which is in the neighborhood of what young, on-the-rise pa sers can expect to make, (adjusted for the salary cap). What won't happen: The Broncos let Osweiler walk; both Elway and coach Gary Kubiak are high on the quarterback."I think that with the sample size that we got from Brock, we were excited about what we saw. ... I think he proved a lot to us," Elway said earlier this year.Kubiak added: "I think he has a bright future. Obviously we think the world of him. We want him to be a part of our football team." Another reason to learn and grow with Osweiler: That Broncos' defense. It -- not Manning -- is the reason Denver has another Super Bowl title. And it will make life eminently easier for Osweiler as he transitions to the full-time job.Peyton's legacy...Is probably best told through the eyes of teammates, coaches and opponents. "To me, he's the greatest of all time. What he's accomplished and the way that he studies, the way he prepares. He's really got a killer instinct too. I've been fortunate to be around him on a lot of occasions and we always hit it off; we have a great relationship and he's a friend of mine and someone that I always watch and admire because he always wants to improve, he always wants to get better and he doesn't settle for anything le s than the best." Hes probably the hardest-working guy Ive been around who has great ability. Overachievers work hard because they have to. Peyton has rare talent, but chooses to push himself like he doesnt. "His mind is , hes Kirk Gibson Jersey formulating a plan, synthesizing all this information that he is hearing, seeing, studying from other people. Hes listening, but hes going to call the shots. There might not be another one like him, who does it like he does it." "He lives, eats, breathes, smokes, snorts, chews football. . That's all he wants to do. I think he expects other people to approach it the way he does. It's not always a good thing." " . He anticipates ahead of time based on his film study and preparation during the week. He's able to preview information in the huddle ahead of time. 'Hey, guys, I'm anticipating pre sure. Heads up for this.' Then he can get up to the line of scrimmage and recognize the front, the down and distance, the coverage Yasmani Grandal Jersey , where the pre sure's coming from, and change the protection." "He's the best that's ever played this game as far as quarterbacks are concerned. When he's retired, they'll compare everybody to Peyton Manning, without a doubt."Peyton's life after football: After 19 seasons, Manning has made enough money to take several lifetimes off. According to , he's earned nearly a on the football field, and that doesn't include the myriad gigs as corporate spokesperson for just about everything under the sun. So what will he do with the next chapter of his life? There has been speculation that Manning could move directly into an NFL front office -- the and were mentioned as as recently as November. Manning will also be highly sought after as an NFL television analyst.And if he chooses to do neither, he can always hawk and -- or .Off-field i sues. Could a recent spate of off-field i sues have hasten Manning's retirement? It's hard to say but the NFL involving Manning. There's also the 14-year-old lawsuit (as part of a 20-year-old case) involving Manning and former University of Tenne see trainer Jamie Naughright. Next stop: Hall of Fame.We could spend thousands of words on Manning's on-field accomplishments, but we'll just l