1) Peyton Manning signed a $96 million contract with the Denver Broncos spread over 5 years, with payments ranging from $18-20 million per year. 2) Manning has already had a very long career of 14 years for a quarterback, whose average is under 6 years, putting him in elite company with the best QBs in NFL history. 3) Manning's passing stats compare favorably to those great QBs, with one year left to match the median career length of 15 years, suggesting he could perform well enough for Denver to justify their investment.

2. Year 1 Payment ($ millions)
1 18
2 20
3 20
4 19
5 19
Peyton Manning’s Contract
Manning’s $96 million contract is spread out over five years, with payments
shown in the table. Each year is not guaranteed, so Denver might not pay
out the full amount.

3. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This graph of the data shows how pivotal years 2 and 3 are. Clearly, if
Manning performs well in the first year, the next two years offer relatively
high payments, with the amounts decreasing in the out years.

4. The average career length
for a quarterback is
under 6 years, but
Peyton Manning has
already played 14 years.
Peyton Manning’s Contract
Although Manning has already played 14 years, he is also in a special
category of quarterbacks and can be compared to some of the best
quarterbacks in NFL history.

5. • Joe Montana • Steve Young
• Dan Marino • Terry Bradshaw
• John Elway • Kurt Warner
• Johnny Unitas • Roger Staubach
• Brett Favre • Jim Kelly
• Bart Starr • Bart Starr
Peyton Manning’s Contract
This, while not an exhaustive list, includes some of the best quarterbacks
in NFL history. We can compare their career stats to Manning’s to see if he
fits in this group.

6. Years Games Passing Passes
QB Played Played TD's Yards Completed
Joe Montana 15 192 273 40,551 3409
Dan Marino 17 242 420 61,361 4967
John Elway 16 234 300 51,475 4213
Johnny Unitas 18 211 290 40,239 2830
Brett Favre 20 302 508 71,838 6300
Steve Young 15 169 232 33,124 2667
Terry Bradshaw 14 168 212 27,989 2025
Kurt Warner 12 125 208 32,344 2666
Roger Staubach 11 131 153 22,700 1685
Jim Kelly 11 160 237 35,467 2874
Bart Starr 16 196 152 24,718 1808
Peyton Manning’s Contract
This table shows the career stats for this list of quarterbacks.
Source: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/

7. Years Games Passing Passes
QB Played Played TD's Yards Completed
Peyton Manning 14 208 399 54,828 4682
Peyton Manning’s Contract
Here are Manning’s stats. Let’s compare.

8. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This represents the number of years played for all quarterbacks. The red
bar is for Peyton Manning.

9. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This graph is for the number of games played.

10. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This graph is for the number of touchdowns.

11. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This graph is for the total number of passing yards.

12. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This graph is for the number of completed passes.

13. Peyton Manning’s statistics
are comparable to those of a
quarterback at the end of
his career. How do we know
he can play for more years?
Peyton Manning’s Contract
Of all the statistics, there is one that suggests that Manning is still viable
for a few more years, and why Denver likely struck the deal with Manning.

14. Peyton Manning’s Contract
This box and whisker plot shows the length of the careers for the list of
quarterbacks shown earlier. The median number of years is 15. Manning
has played 14 years, one less than the median.

15. Peyton Manning’s Contract
While it’s unlikely that Manning will play another five years, even if he did, it
would still place him within the range of career lengths, but a little closer to
an outlier.

16. Peyton Manning’s Contract
How do you think Peyton Manning will do as a quarterback for Denver?