Peyton Manning missed the whole 2011 season after a series of neck surgeries that ended in a fusion that September. On March 7, 2012, the Colts released him, a day before a large roster bonus came due. On March 20 he signed with the Denver Broncos.
Released by the Colts, he won a fifth MVP in Denver.
Topps Chrome's 2012 set, 220 cards, half veterans and half rookies, was scheduled for early November. Manning is #161, in Denver's colors.
He is in the Broncos' white jersey, number 18, and the Broncos helmet, the ball up, a crowd behind him. The Broncos logo sits in a red and blue band at the bottom over PEYTON MANNING-QB. This is the Gold Refractor, one of fifty, with a gold border, one rung on a ladder of parallels that runs from the plain Refractor down to a single SuperFractor.
That first season in Denver he threw for 4,659 yards and 37 touchdowns, and the Broncos went 13–3. The next year he threw for 5,477 yards and 55 touchdowns, both records, beating Drew Brees's yardage mark by a single yard, and won his fifth MVP award.
His last game was Super Bowl 50, on February 7, 2016. The Broncos beat Carolina 24–10. He retired a month later.
