Our Peyton Manning quotes highlight the intellect, skills, and humor of the Pro Football and College Football Hall of Famer.
The former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos NFL quarterback was the top QB in the NFL for many seasons. He won the league Most Valuable Player Award five times and is widely regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.
Review the quotes below and see how faith and family affected Peyton’s play on the football field. You’ll also gain a sense of appreciation for his humor.
Best Peyton Manning Quotes
- I want to be out there every single snap, every single play.
- Boy, do I hate to lose.
- The most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable.
- It’s kind of boring to me if teams never throw the ball.
- You’ve got to remember what your priorities are. When you’re playing, what you do on the field is the most important thing.
- Whenever people ask you where you’re from, and you say, New Orleans, it’s always going to create a conversation.
- I feel one of the most significant honors a player can have in his sport is to have his number retired. Certainly, for me to have that at Tennessee, it’s with great pride.
- If you work hard and you play well, all those critics quiet themselves pretty quickly.
- You can play pickup basketball, but you can’t really re-create football.
- I’ve never taken for granted what we’ve had, not for one single game, not one single practice, I’ve truly been blessed.
Why Peyton Manning Chose 18 for His Jersey Number
Funny Peyton Manning Quotes
- I’m not 23 anymore. But the defensive ends and linebackers chasing me are.
- I think I could describe the perfect quarterback. Take a little piece of everybody. Take John Elway’s arm, Dan Marino’s release, maybe Troy Aikman’s drop-back, Brett Favre’s scrambling ability, Joe Montana’s two-minute poise, and, naturally, my speed.
- Remind your critics when they say you don’t have the expertise or experience to do something that an amateur built the ark and the experts built the Titanic.
- I guess, to tell you the truth, I’ve never had much of a desire to grow facial hair. I think I’ve managed to play quarterback just fine without a mustache.
- You hear about how many fourth-quarter comebacks that a guy has, and I think it means a guy screwed up in the first three quarters.
- My high-school coach Tony Reginelli was kind of famous for ‘Reggie-isms,’ kind of like ‘Yogi-isms.’ He always said if you want to be a good quarterback when sprinting left, you want to be amphibious and throw left-handed. I told him, ‘You mean ambidextrous, coach?
- OK, I’m sorry – do you want to lose? I throw, you catch. It’s not that hard, OK? Get the (bleep) out of here. (To a kid in an SNL spoof of a United Way advertisement.)
- Chicken parm you taste so good. (Nationwide TV commercial)
- John Cena is an athlete the same way Ryan Lochte is a reliable witness. (ESPY Awards)
- To all the fantasy owners who drafted me: You’re welcome.
Funny Peyton Manning YouTube Video
Peyton Manning’s Insights on Family
- I’m proud to be Archie’s son. Being a quarterback, I had my mentor and hero living in the same house.
- My dad was a class person on and off the field. That’s the person I want to be.
- I’m the best Manning.
- To me, as his brother, I got to witness a lot of things early that told me that he was gonna be able to handle New York. It certainly wasn’t easy. At the beginning, there were rough patches, but he handled it. Eli never got too high, never got too low. Told me he never watched the news or read the papers. Those things can affect a guy, high or low, [but] Eli stayed pretty even-keeled. (On his brother Eli.)
- I got to play in four Super Bowls…I got to be on the winning side of two. And I think people don’t really believe me when I say that my favorite Super Bowl memory was watching my little brother take the New York Giants down the field in the two-minute drill and beat the undefeated Patriots and all that came with that. Maybe I wasn’t as happy as the ’72 Dolphins, but I was pretty close.
- The thing about Eli, he’s very intense and passionate about his preparation and his commitment to being a good football player in the NFL. All quarterbacks in the NFL need to put the time and effort into it, and he does. He lives there in New York in the offseason and is committed to being the best player he can be.
- Cooper is fun to work with, always upbeat, and doesn’t take himself too seriously. He likes to laugh, and I think the students really like that. (On Coper’s role hosting NBC’s Capital One College Bowl.)
- My dad told us up front, “Guys, if you want to play sports, go ahead, but it’s your decision.”
Peyton Manning on Football
- I don’t like to play favorites, and I do try to spread the ball around. But there’s an old rule: You throw to the guys who get open in practice.
- It goes without saying winning against a good team in a hostile crowd on the road, it’s just an absolutely huge win.
- Being there every week for my teammates is really important to me. It’s about accountability. I hear stuff about the ‘toughest quarterback in the league’ and all that; what’s that mean?
- I see young quarterbacks just coming into the league, and they’re throwing screens and layoffs right away. As funny as this might sound, I really learned a lot by going downfield, even in tight coverage.
- Imitation is obviously a great form of flattery.
- I would like to play for you, but if you don’t pick me, I will kick your a#% for the next 15 years. (Manning’s comment to Colts’ owner Jim Isray before the 1998 NFL Draft)
- I don’t want to retire. I still want to play.
- When you’re playing, what you do on the field is the most important thing.
- I was never on a mission to be an NFL quarterback. I wanted to be a good high school player, and I worked hard at that. That made me good enough to play in college, and then I wanted to be a good college quarterback. During college, I played well enough to make it into the NFL. I never took it for granted and really wanted to play hard at each level, and I have always had a lot of fun doing what I wanted to do.
- I wanted to be on a team that won the Super Bowl. To me, that’s what it’s always been about. In years past, when our team has come up short, it’s been disappointing. But somehow, some way, we have found a way to learn from some of those losses. We’re a better team because of it.
- I would love to have played in the ’60s. Now that would have been fun.
On Quarterbacks and QBing
- I certainly think about how grateful I am for all the teammates and coaches that I’ve played with and played for throughout my career, not only here in Denver — in Indianapolis and all the people that have helped me along the way, but I’ve always been a fan of quarterbacks, whether it’s Brett Favre or Dan Marino or John Elway. I’m very honored and humbled to join a pretty unique club, and then when you throw in guys like Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton, guys that were my dad’s heroes growing up as well, I can put it in some perspective, and I have a great appreciation for it. (on his career touchdown record)
- The head coach tells us what to do, and we follow his orders.
- In the NFL game today, there are a lot of better athletes than I am, and quarterbacks these days are faster than the quarterbacks have always been; they’re running like crazy. But I kind of stick to my roots of the disciplined quarterback. You know, I’m doing the same routine every week, studying tapes and working hard, getting ready to play, and making good decisions on Sundays.
- I see young quarterbacks just coming into the league, and they’re throwing screens and layoffs right away. As funny as this might sound, I really learned a lot by going downfield, even in tight coverage.
- It’s not wanting to win that makes you a winner; it’s refusing to fail.
- Don’t ever think, no matter how old you are, that you don’t need to be coached.
Good Peyton Manning Sayings
- If nothing else in life, I want to be true to the things I believe in and, quite simply, to what I’m all about. I know I’d better because it seems whenever I take a false step or two, I feel the consequences.
- When you take a year off from football, you come back for all the enjoyable moments. When you’re not playing, you miss out on all the highs, but you also miss these disappointments. But I would rather be in the arena to be excited or be disappointed than not have a chance at all. That’s football. That’s why everybody plays it.
- I never took it for granted and really wanted to play hard at each level, and I have always had a lot of fun doing what I wanted to do.
- When you go through a significant injury and have a major career change, you truly do go one year at a time, and you don’t look past what’s going on now because you are not sure what’s going to happen. Tomorrow is not promised.
- I have no plans on doing that. (Upon being asked if he was considering retirement because of neck surgeries that sidelined him in 2011.)
- I’m really not comfortable with being drawn into comparisons with other athletes. I certainly would think all of those athletes would echo my sentiments of being thankful and grateful for the supporting cast they’ve had around them. I think they would realize, as I certainly do, that this wouldn’t be possible without the help of so many people.
- And as I go, I go with just a few words left to say, a few words I want to address to Colts fans everywhere. Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. I truly have enjoyed being your quarterback.
- Anyone who waits for someone else to make a change automatically becomes the follower.
You might like Bullied Boy’s University of Tennessee T-shirt Design Goes Viral.
Inspirational Peyton Manning Quotations
- If people think I’m a laid-back guy, that’s their mistake.
- I remember when I first got into the league, I thought about how it would be nice to have a year when you were the best. That means your team is probably winning.
- If I had to choose between youth and experience, I’d take experience every time.
- I pray every night, sometimes long prayers about a lot of things and a lot of people, but I don’t talk about it or brag about it because that’s between God and me, and I’m no better than anybody else in God’s sight.
- My job is to play well offensively and help my team score points. So I feel very responsible every time we lose a game
- I’ve been a Colt for almost all of my adult life, but I guess in life and in sports, we all know nothing lasts forever. Times change, circumstances change, and that’s the reality of playing in the NFL.
- It’s not wanting to win that makes you a winner; it’s refusing to fail.
- When people are watching you, it makes you think twice about what you do, and the things you say, and the people you hang around with.
On Character
These Peyton Manning quotes address character.
- It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.
- My job is to play well offensively and help my team score points. So I feel very responsible every time we lose a game.
- I’ve never left the field saying, ‘I could’ve done more to get ready,’ and that gives me peace of mind.
- The pressure is something you feel when you don’t know what the h$#$ you’re doing.
- I’m a serious person by nature – sometimes too serious.
- One thing that can never be sacrificed is your preparation and your work ethic.
Peyton Manning Quotes FAQ
Here are some frequently asked questions about Peyton Manning.
Peyton Manning said, “The most valuable player is the one who makes the most players valuable.”
Peyton Manning would frequently shout, “Omaha!” Per Manning, “Omaha was a trigger word that meant we had changed the play, there was low time on the clock, and the ball needed to be snapped right now…”
The Sheriff. On a Monday Night Football broadcast, TV analyst Jon Gruden used the name repeatedly because he felt Manning “laid down the law.” The name stuck.
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By Mike O’Halloran
Founder and Editor, Sports Feel Good Stories
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