Weeks of speculation about Peyton Manning’s future ended on Wednesday with word that he is returning for an 18th season in the NFL and fourth in Denver.
A person with knowledge of the situation said that the five-time Most Valuable Player will take a US$4 million pay cut, from US$19 million to US$15 million, but that he can make it all back through performance incentives.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity because there was no official announcement of the deal.
Manning was to take his physical and sign his revised contract yesterday, then return on April 13 for team conditioning.
Manning mulled retirement after the Broncos’ playoff loss to the Indianapolis Colts. However, he determined he still had the health and hunger to keep playing at age 39, when he tries to become the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl.
Manning, who won a title with the Colts in 2006, met with general manager John Elway a few weeks ago after taking some time to decompress from an arduous season and told him he was not ready to retire.
However, reminiscent of Brett Favre’s annual flirtations with retirement, this saga dragged on as the Broncos and Manning’s representatives reworked the quarterback’s contract.
The US$4 million savings will not drastically change Denver’s free-agency plans. It gives Elway about US$20 million to work with, but much of that will go to his own restricted free agents and a large draft class.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
If all goes well when the biggest marathon field ever gathered in Australia races 42km through the streets of Sydney on Sunday, World Marathon Majors (WMM) will soon add a seventh race to the elite series. The Sydney Marathon is to become the first race since Tokyo in 2013 to join long-established majors in New York, London, Boston, Berlin and Chicago if it passes the WMM assessment criteria for the second straight year. “We’re really excited for Sunday to arrive,” race director Wayne Larden told a news conference in Sydney yesterday. “We’re prepared, we’re ready. All of our plans look good on
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
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