title	National Football League
current season	2011 NFL season
logo	National Football League 2008.svg
pixels	150 px
sport	American Football
founded	August 20, 1920, in Canton, Ohio
ceo	Roger Goodell
inaugural	1920
teams	32
country	United States
champion	Green Bay Packers (13th title)
most champs	Green Bay Packers (13 titles)
website	NFL.com
tv	CBSFoxNBCESPNNFL Network }}

The National Football League (NFL) is the highest level of professional American football in the United States. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing its name to the National Football League in 1922. The league currently consists of thirty-two teams from the United States. The league is divided evenly into two conferences — the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC), and each conference has four divisions that have four teams each, for a total of 16 teams in each conference. The NFL is an unincorporated 501(c)(6) association, a federal nonprofit designation, comprising its 32 teams.

The regular season is a seventeen-week schedule during which each team plays sixteen games and has one bye week. The season currently starts on the Thursday night in the first full week of September (the Thursday after Labor Day) and runs weekly to late December or early January. At the end of each regular season, six teams from each conference (at least one from each division) play in the NFL playoffs, a twelve-team single-elimination tournament that culminates with the championship game, known as the Super Bowl. This game is held at a pre-selected site which is usually a city that hosts an NFL team.

The NFL is the most attended domestic sports league in the world by average attendance per game, with 66,960 fans per game in 2010–11. Although not as frequently as the other major professional sports leagues in the United States, the NFL still is not immune to labor disputes, such as the player's strikes of 1982 and 1987, and more recently a lockout in 2011.

History

In 1920 representatives of several professional American football leagues and independent teams founded the American Professional Football Conference, soon renamed the National Football League. The first official championship game was held in 1933. By 1958, when that season's NFL championship game became known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played", the NFL was on its way to becoming one of the most popular sports leagues in the United States. In 1965, football supplanted baseball as the most popular televised sport in America. The merger with the American Football League, agreed to in 1966 and completed in 1970, greatly expanded the league and created the Super Bowl, which has become the most-watched annual sporting event in the United States.

Season structure

Since 2002, the NFL season features the following schedule:

a 4-game exhibition season (or preseason) running from early August to early September;

a 16-game, 17-week regular season running from September to December or early January; and

a 12-team single-elimination playoff beginning in January, culminating in the Super Bowl in early February.

Traditionally, American high school football games are played on Friday nights, American college football games are played on Thursday nights and Saturdays, and most NFL games are played on Sunday. Because the NFL season is longer than the college football season, the NFL schedules Saturday games and Saturday playoff games outside the college football season. The ABC Television network added Monday Night Football in 1970, and Thursday night NFL games were added in the 1980s.

Exhibition season

Following mini-camps in the spring and officially recognized training camp in July–August, NFL teams typically play four exhibition games from early August through early September. Each team hosts two games of the four. The exhibition season begins with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, so those two teams play five exhibition games each. Historically, the American Bowl(s) were played prior to the NFL scheduling regular season games abroad and those teams faced this similar predicament.

The games are useful for new players who are not used to playing in front of very large crowds. Management often uses the games to evaluate newly signed players. Veteran starters will generally play only for about a quarter of each game to minimize the risk of injury. Several lawsuits have been brought by fans, against the policy of including exhibition games in season-ticket packages at regular season prices, but none have so far been very successful.

Regular season

Following the preseason, each of the thirty-two teams embark on a seventeen-week, sixteen-game schedule, with the extra week consisting of a bye to allow teams a rest sometime in the middle of the season (and also to increase television coverage). The regular season currently begins the Thursday evening after Labor Day with a primetime "Kickoff Game" (NBC currently holds broadcast rights for that game). According to the current scheduling structure, the earliest the season could begin is September 4 (as it was in the 2008 season), while the latest would be September 10 (as it was in the 2009 season, due to September 1 falling on a Tuesday).

The league uses a scheduling formula to pre-determine which teams plays whom during a given season. Under the current formula since 2002, each of the thirty-two teams' respective 16-game schedule consists for the following:

Each team plays the other three teams in their division ''twice'': once at home, and once on the road (six games).

Each team plays the four teams from another division within its own conference ''once'' on a rotating three-year cycle: two at home, and two on the road (four games).

Each team plays the four teams from a division in the other conference ''once'' on a rotating four-year cycle: two at home, and two on the road (four games).

Each team plays ''once'' against the other teams in its conference that finished in the same place in their own divisions as themselves the previous season, not counting the division they were already scheduled to play: one at home, one on the road (two games).

Although this scheduling formula determines each of the thirty-two teams' respective opponents, the league usually does not release the final regular schedule with specific dates and times until the spring; the NFL needs several months to coordinate the entire season schedule so that, among other reasons, games are worked around various scheduling conflicts, and that it helps maximize TV ratings.

The regular season, under the current format, starts no earlier than September 4, and ends no later than January 3, in any given year.

Playoffs

The season concludes with a twelve-team tournament used to determine the teams to play in the Super Bowl. The tournament brackets are made up of six teams from each of the league's two conferences, the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC), following the end of the 16-game regular season:

The four division champions from each conference (the team in each division with the best regular season won-lost-tied record), which are seeded one through four based on their regular season won-lost-tied record (tie-breaker rules may apply).

Two wild card qualifiers from each conference (those non-division champions with the conference's best record, i.e. the best won-lost-tied percentages, with a series of tie-breaking rules in place in the event that there are teams with the same number of wins and losses), which are seeded five and six.

In each conference, the #3 and #6 seeded teams, and the #4 and #5 seeds, face each other during the first round of the playoffs, dubbed the Wild Card Playoffs (the league in recent years has also used the term Wild Card Weekend). The #1 and #2 seeds from each conference receive a ''bye'' in the first round, which entitles these teams to automatically advance to the second round, the Divisional Playoff games, to face the winning teams from the first round. In round two, the #1 seeded team always plays the lowest surviving seed in their conference. And in any given playoff game, whoever has the higher seed gets the home field advantage (i.e. the game is held at the higher seed's home field).

The two surviving teams from the Divisional Playoff games meet in Conference Championship games, with the winners of those contests going on to face one another in the Super Bowl in a game located at a neutral venue that is usually either indoors or in a warm-weather locale. The designated "home team" alternates year to year between the conferences. In odd-numbered Super Bowls, the NFC team is the designated "home team", with the AFC team serving as the home team for even-numbered games.

The NFL is the only one out of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States to use a single-elimination tournament in its playoffs; Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League all use a "best-of" format instead.

Pro Bowl

The Pro Bowl, the league's all-star game, has been traditionally held on the weekend after the Super Bowl. The game was played at various venues before being held at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii for 30 consecutive seasons from 1980 to 2009.

However, the 2010 Pro Bowl was played at Sun Life Stadium, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV, on January 31, the first time ever that the Pro Bowl was played ''before'' the championship game. The 2011 and 2012 games will return to Honolulu, though the 2011 game was still played before the Super Bowl.

Calendar

Though the NFL only plays in the late summer, fall, and early winter, the extended offseason often is an event in itself, with the draft, free agency signings, and the announcement of schedules keeping the NFL in the spotlight even during the spring, when virtually no on-field activity is taking place. A typical calendar of league events is as follows, with the dates listed being those for the 2010 NFL season:

February 22 – Pro Football Hall of Fame Game opponents announced.

February 24 – March 2—NFL Scouting Combine: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Ind.

February 25—Deadline for Clubs to designate Franchise and Transition players.

March 5—Veteran Free Agency signing period begins. Trading period begins.

March 21–24—NFL Annual Meeting: Dana Point, Calif. Usually accompanied by announcement of scheduling and opponents for first game and opening-weekend night games.

Early April: Teams begin voluntary workouts.

April 20: 2010 schedule announced.

April 22–24 – NFL Draft: New York City.

May 24–26—NFL Spring Meeting: Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

June 27 – June 30—NFL Rookie Symposium, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.

Mid-July (varies by team, fifteen days before first preseason game)-- Training camps open.

August 7 – Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Canton, Ohio, including Hall of Fame Game.

August 12–16—First full Preseason weekend.

August 31—Roster cutdown from 80 to maximum of 75 players.

September 4—Roster cutdown from 75 to maximum of 53 players.

September 9–13 – Kickoff 2010 Weekend (Week 1 of regular season)

October 31 – International Series game (Wembley Stadium, London).

November – Pro Bowl balloting and flexible scheduling for NBC Sunday Night Football begin.

November 25 – Thanksgiving games.

January 2, 2011—End of regular season.

January 8, 2011 – Playoffs begin.

January 23 – AFC Championship Game and NFC Championship Game.

January 30 – Pro Bowl.

February 6 – Super Bowl.

Teams

Current NFL teams

The NFL consists of thirty-two clubs. Each club is allowed a maximum of fifty-three players on their roster, but they may only dress forty-five to play each week during the regular season. Reflecting the population distribution of the United States as a whole, most teams are in the eastern half of the country; seventeen teams are in the Eastern Time Zone and nine others in the Central Time Zone.

Most major metropolitan areas in the United States have an NFL franchise, although Los Angeles, the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, has not hosted an NFL team since 1994. The Rams and the Raiders called the Los Angeles area home from 1946–1994 and 1982–1994 respectively. On August 9, 2011, the LA City Council approved plans to build Farmers Field which will be home to an NFL team. It is unknown which team will move to the venue. In 2005, some Saints games were played in San Antonio and Baton Rouge because of Hurricane Katrina.

Unlike Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League, the league has no full-time teams in Canada, although the Buffalo Bills play one game per year in Toronto. Also, there is talk of possibly bringing the NFL to Toronto, the largest city in Canada.

The Dallas Cowboys are the highest valued American football franchise, valued at approximately $1.6 billion and one of the most valuable franchises in all of professional sports worldwide, currently second behind English soccer club Manchester United, which has an approximate value of $1.8 billion at current exchange rates. (Incidentally, the majority shareholder in United, Malcolm Glazer, is also the owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.)

Since the 2002 season, the teams have been aligned as follows: ; Chart notes

Former NFL teams

In its earliest years, the NFL was a very unstable and somewhat informal organization. Many teams entered and left the league annually. However, since the acquisition of the All-America Football Conference in 1950, the NFL has shown remarkable stability. The last NFL team to fold was the Dallas Texans in 1952; its remnants were salvaged to form the expansion Baltimore Colts.

Media

Television

Annually, the Super Bowl often ranks as the most watched show of the year in the United States and second most watched sporting event worldwide behind the UEFA Champions League final. Four of Nielsen Media Research's top ten programs are Super Bowls. Networks have purchased a share of the broadcasting rights to the NFL as a means of raising the entire network's profile. The Super Bowl is so popular annually that many companies debut elaborate commercials during the game.

The television rights to the NFL are the most lucrative and expensive sports broadcasting commodity in the United States. Under the current television contracts, which began during the 2006 season, regular season games are broadcast on five networks: CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, and the NFL Network. Regionally shown games are broadcast on Sundays on CBS and Fox, carrying the AFC and NFC teams respectively (the traveling team deciding the broadcast station in the event of inter-Conference games, presumably so that each network can show games from all the stadiums). These games generally air at 1:00 p.m. ET and 4:05 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. ET. (Due to differences between Eastern and local time, games played in the Pacific and Mountain time zones are never played in the 1:00pm ET time slot.) Nationally televised games include Sunday night games (shown on NBC), Monday night games (shown on ESPN), the Thursday night NFL Kickoff Game (shown on NBC), the annual Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions Thanksgiving Day games (CBS and Fox), and beginning in 2006, all Thursday and Saturday games on the NFL Network, a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Football League.

Additionally, satellite broadcast company DirecTV offers NFL Sunday Ticket, a subscription based package, that allows most Sunday daytime regional games to be watched. This package is exclusive to DirecTV in the USA; for subscribers to Dish Network Verizon FiOS and Comcast, the NFL instead offers "RedZone," a less expensive single channel that launched in 2009 and airs "the touchdowns and most important moments during all the Sunday afternoon games." In Canada, NFL Sunday Ticket is available on a per-provider distribution deal on both cable and satellite.

The NFL also produces programming for various networks, mainly highlight shows like ''Inside the NFL'' for Showtime and other historical games through its renowned NFL Films division that generally air on ESPN and NFL Network. Other NFL-produced programs include ''Hard Knocks'', an HBO series detailing training camp for certain teams; plus the animated children's show ''RushZone: Guardians of the Core'' airing on Viacom's Nicktoons channel.

Radio

Each NFL team has its own radio network and employs its announcers. Nationally, the NFL is heard on the Westwood One Radio Network, Sports USA Radio Network, the Dial Global-Compass Media Sports Network and in Spanish on Univision Radio. Westwood One carries Sunday and Monday Night Football, all Thursday games, two Sunday afternoon contests each week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game, and all post-season games, including the Pro Bowl. Sports USA Radio and Dial Global-Compass each broadcast two Sunday afternoon games every Sunday during the regular season, by agreement with individual teams. Univision carries Monday Night games, select games from the New York metro area, and all playoff games.

The NFL also has a contract with Sirius Satellite Radio, which provides news, analysis, commentary and game coverage for all games, as well as comprehensive coverage of the draft and off-season on its own channel, Sirius NFL Radio.

Internet radio broadcasts of all NFL games are managed through FieldPass, a subscription service. Radio stations are, by rule, prohibited from streaming the games for free from their Web sites; however, there are numerous stations that break this rule. All 32 teams, plus Westwood One and Univision, currently broadcast through FieldPass as of 2009; Dial Global-Compass and Sports USA do not.

Internet/new media

In October 2006 the NFL announced the league would fully operate NFL.com, including the development of the technology, infrastructure and editorial content. Launching its first major redesign since 1999 in August 2007, the site had been previously produced and hosted since 2001 by CBS SportsLine. It is estimated that the contract cost CBS $120 million over a five year period. Prior to CBS, ESPN.com produced and hosted the NFL site.

Brian Rolapp, senior vice president of NFL digital media and media strategy: “In a rapidly changing digital landscape, bringing NFL.com in-house provides us greater control of our valuable content and enables us to strategically build the site as a media asset. Fans can look forward to an even more entertaining, interactive and informative site built upon the expertise of the NFL and its other in-house media outlets such as NFL Network and NFL Films.”

Univision Online, Inc., the interactive subsidiary of Univision Communications Inc., and the NFL announced in January 2008 that they will jointly manage and operate NFLatino.com powered by Univision.com, the official U.S. Spanish-language website of the NFL. NFLatino.com is the only Spanish-language website in the United States to feature NFL video game highlights. In addition, the website includes live radio broadcasts, up-to-date stats, Hispanic player diaries, Fantasy Football and an insider’s view of all 32 teams.

Announced in March 2009, NFL.com received its first-ever Sports Emmy nominations, which earned recognition for its NFL.com LIVE coverage of NFL Network’s Thursday and Saturday Night Football (Outstanding new approaches, coverage) and its Anatomy of a Play, a short-form 360-degree analysis of key plays of the week (Outstanding new approaches, general interest).

Beginning September 2008, the NFL announced that it would simulcast all NBC Sunday Night Football games on NFL.com, located at nfl.com/snf. In 2007, they had provided an Emmy-nominated "complementary live broadcast" which included a partial simulcast of the NFL Network's Run to the Playoffs eight game package along with expanded NFL Network analysis.

The NFL offers a pay service for people outside the United States to watch all regular season and playoff games, except for the Super Bowl, live online. This service is not available for fans within the United States or Mexico. Instead, the service is available after games are played and offers full DVR functionality with the ability to watch up to four previously recorded games at once.

Player contracts and compensation

The National Football League Players Association (NFLPA) has historically served as the labor union for NFL players. Among its duties is negotiating collective bargaining agreements (CBA) with league owners, which governs the negotiation of individual player contracts for all of the league's players. The NFLPA was established in 1956, and has decertified at least twice in its history during labor disputes: the 1987 strike and the 2011 lockout.

The most recent CBA was in place since 1993, and was amended in 1998 and again in 2006. But in 2008, the owners exercised their right to opt out of the agreement two years early. This has eventually led to a lockout in 2011, the NFL's first work stoppage since 1987, which is longer than Major League Baseball (1994 and beginning of 1995 seasons), the NBA (1998–99 season) or the NHL (2004–05 season canceled).

Under that recently expired CBA, players were tiered into three different levels with regards to their rights to negotiate for contracts: Players who have been drafted (see below), and have not yet played in their first year, may only negotiate with the team that drafted them. If terms cannot be agreed upon, the players' only recourse is to refuse to play ("hold out") until terms can be reached. Players often use the threat of holding out as a means to force the hands of the teams that drafted them. For example, John Elway was drafted by the Baltimore Colts in 1983 but refused to play for them. He had a fallback option of baseball, as he had played in the New York Yankees organization for two summers while at Stanford. The Colts traded his rights to the Denver Broncos and Elway agreed to play. Bo Jackson sat out an entire year in 1986, choosing to play baseball in the Kansas City Royals organization rather than play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that had drafted him. He reentered the draft the following year, and was drafted and subsequently signed with the Los Angeles Raiders. Players that have played three full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired are considered "Restricted Free Agents" (see below). They have limited rights to negotiate with any club. Players that have played four or more full seasons in the league, and whose contract has expired, are considered "Unrestricted Free Agents"(see below) and have unlimited rights to negotiate with any club. Teams may name a single player in any given year as a "Franchise Player" (see below), which eliminates much of that player's negotiation rights. This is a limited right of the team, however, and affects only a small handful of players each year. In the 2010 season, the CBA was not extended, thus changing the rules so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have played at least six full seasons in the league. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have three–five full seasons in the league.

Among the items covered in the CBA are:

The league minimum salary

The salary cap

The annual collegiate draft

Rules regarding "free agency"

Waiver rules

Salaries

A player's salary, as defined by the CBA, includes any "compensation in money, property, investments, loans or anything else of value to which an NFL player may be awarded" excluding such benefits as insurance and pension. A salary can include an annual pay and a one-time "signing bonus" which is paid in full when the player signs his contract. For the purposes of the salary cap (see below), the signing bonus is prorated over the life of the contract rather than to the year in which the signing bonus is paid.

Player contracts are not guaranteed; teams are only required to pay on the contract as long as the player remains a member of the team. If the player is cut, or quits, for any reason, the balance of the contract is voided and the player receives no further compensation.

Among other things, the CBA establishes a minimum salary for its players, which is stepped-up as a player's years of experience increase. Players and their agents may negotiate with clubs for higher salaries, and frequently do.

Salary cap

The salary cap is defined as the maximum amount that a team may spend on player compensation (see above) in a given season, for all of its players combined. Unlike other leagues, for example the NBA (which permits certain exemptions) or Major League Baseball (which has a "soft cap" enforced by "luxury taxes"), the NFL has a "hard cap": an amount no team under any circumstances may exceed. The NFL also has a so-called "hard floor", a minimum payroll that each team is required to pay regardless of the circumstances.

The NFL salary cap is calculated by the current CBA to be 59.5% of the total projected league revenue for the upcoming year. This number, divided by the number of teams, determines an individual team's maximum salary cap. For 2008, this was approximately $116 million per team. For 2009, it increased to $127 million. As a result of the NFL owners opting out of the CBA two years early, the 2010 season had no salary cap or floor.

Teams and players often find creative ways to fit salaries under the salary cap. Early in the salary cap era, "signing bonuses" were used to give players a large chunk of money up front, and thus not count in the salary for the bulk of the contract. This led to a rule whereby all signing bonus are ''pro-rated'' equally for each year of the contract. Thus if a player receives a $10 million signing bonus for a five-year contract, $2 million per year would count against the salary cap for the life of the contract, even though the full $10 million was paid up front during the first year of the contract.

Player contracts tend to be "back-loaded". This means that the contract is not divided equally among the time period it covers. Instead, the player earns progressively more and more each year. For instance, a player signing a four-year deal worth $10 million may get paid $1 million the first year, $2 million the second year, $3 million the third year, and $4 million the fourth year. If a team cuts this player after the first year, the final three years do not count against the cap. Any signing bonus, however, ceases to be pro-rated, and the entire balance of the bonus counts against the cap in the upcoming season.

NFL Draft

Each April, each NFL franchise seeks to add new players to its roster through a collegiate draft known as "the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting", which is more commonly known as the NFL Draft.

Teams are ranked in inverse order based on the previous season's record, with the team having the worst record picking first, and the second-worst picking second, and so on. Regardless of regular season records, the last two picks of each round go to the two teams in the Super Bowl immediately preceding the draft, with the Super Bowl champion picking last.

The draft proceeds for seven rounds. In the past, Rounds 1–2 were run on Saturday of draft weekend, rounds 3–7 were run on Sunday.

During 2010 the league experimented with a new system. Round 1 was run on Thursday night of the draft weekend. Rounds 2 and 3 were run on the Friday night of the draft weekend. Rounds 4 through 7 were run on Saturday. The impact of this change—according to commentators at ESPN and Sports Illustrated—was that teams gained more time to make trades for draft picks in the early rounds and that process enhanced the value of the first picks in Rounds 2 and 4. http://www.nfl.com/draft/2010 and www.si.com

Teams are given 10 minutes in the first round of the draft, 7 in the second round and 5 in all other rounds. If the pick is not made in the allotted time, subsequent teams in the draft may draft before them. This happened in 2003 to the Minnesota Vikings.

Teams have the option of trading away their picks to other teams for different picks, players, cash, or a combination thereof. While player-for-player trades are rare during the rest of the year (especially in comparison to the other major league sports), trades are far more common on draft day. In 1989, the Dallas Cowboys traded running back Herschel Walker to the Minnesota Vikings for five veteran players and six draft picks over 3 years. The Cowboys would use these picks to leverage trades for additional draft picks and veteran players. As a direct result of this trade, they would draft many of the stars who would help them win three Super Bowls in the 1990s, including Emmitt Smith, Russell Maryland, and Darren Woodson.

The first pick in the draft is often taken to be the best overall player in the rookie class. This may or may not be true, since teams often select players based more on the teams' needs than on the players' overall skills. Plus, comparing players at different positions is difficult to do. Still, it is considered a great honor to be a first-round pick, and a greater honor to be the first overall pick. The last pick in the draft is known as Mr. Irrelevant, and is the subject of a dinner in his (dubious) honor in Newport Beach, California.

Drafted players may only negotiate with the team that drafted them (or to another team if their rights were traded away). The drafting team has one year to sign the player. If they do not do so, the player may reenter the draft and can be drafted by another team. Bo Jackson famously sat out a season in this way.

Free agency

General

As defined by the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), a free agent is any player who is not under contract to any team and thus has fully free rights to negotiate with any other team for new contract terms. Free agents are classified into two categories: ''restricted'' and ''unrestricted''. Furthermore, a team may "tag" a player as a ''franchise'' or ''transition'', which places additional restrictions on that player's ability to negotiate. However, the ability to "tag" is quite limited, and only affects a handful of players each year.

Free agency in the NFL began with a limited free agency system known as "Plan B Free Agency", which was in effect between the 1989 and 1992 seasons. Beginning with the 1993 season, "Plan A Free Agency" went into effect.

Restricted free agent

A player who has 3 years of experience is eligible for restricted free agency, whereby his current team has the chance to retain rights to this player by matching the highest offer any other NFL franchise might make to that player. The club can either block a signing or, in essence, force a trade by offering a salary over a certain threshold. In 2006, these thresholds were as follows:

If a club tenders an offer of $685,000 per year for a three year veteran, and $725,000 for a four year veteran, the player's current team has "right of first refusal" over the contract at those terms, and may sign the player at those terms.

If a club tenders an offer of $712,000 or 110% (whichever is greater) of the previous year's salary, then the current club has both "right of first refusal" and rights to a draft pick from the same round (or better) from the signing club. Essentially, this means that the new club must forfeit the draft pick to the old club if they wish to sign the player under these terms.

If a club tenders an offer of $1.552 million or 110% (whichever is greater) of the previous year's salary, then the current club has both "right of first refusal"; and rights to the ''first round'' draft pick from the signing club.

Unrestricted free agent

A player who has four or more years of experience is eligible for unrestricted free agency, whereby his current team has no guaranteed right to match outside offers to that player. This means that players in this category have unlimited rights to negotiate any terms with any team.

Free agency changes in 2010

In 2010, the CBA was not extended, thus the rules changed so that players don't become "Unrestricted Free Agents" until they have at least six years of experience. They will be "Restricted Free Agents" if they have three–five years of experience. There will also be limitations imposed on which clubs are allowed to sign free agents. This is part of a set of rule changes written into the CBA designed to encourage the owners and the NFLPA to negotiate a new CBA: the players lose some free agency rights, and the owners lose the salary cap.

Franchise tag

The franchise tag is a designation given to a player by a franchise that guarantees that player a contract the average of the five highest-paid players of that same position in the entire league, or 120% of the player's previous year's salary (whichever is greater) in return for retaining rights to that player for one year. An NFL franchise may only designate one player a year as having the franchise tag, and may designate the same player for consecutive years. This has caused some tension between some NFL franchise designees and their respective teams due to the fact that a player designated as a franchise player precludes that player from pursuing large signing bonuses that are common in unrestricted free agency, and also prevents a player from leaving the team, especially when the reasons for leaving are not necessarily financial. A team may, at their discretion, allow the franchise player to negotiate with other clubs, but if he signs with another club, the first club is entitled to two first round draft picks in compensation.

Banned substances policy

The NFL banned substances policy has been acclaimed by some and criticized by others, but the policy is the longest running in American professional sports, beginning in 1987. The current policy of the NFL suspends players without pay who test positive for banned substances as it has since 1989: four games for the first offense (a quarter of the regular season), eight games for a second offense (half of the regular season), and 12 months for a third offense. The suspended games may be either regular season games or playoff games.

While recently MLB and the NHL decided to permanently ban athletes for a third offense, they have long been resistant to such measures, and random testing is in its infancy.

Since the NFL started random, year-round tests and suspending players for banned substances, many more players have been found to be in violation of the policy. By April 2005, 111 NFL players had tested positive for banned substances, and of those 111, the NFL suspended 54.

A new rule is in the works due to Shawne Merriman. Starting the 2007 season, the new rule would prohibit any player testing positive for banned substances from being able to play in the Pro Bowl that year.

Video games

There have been several American football video games based on NFL teams created for various consoles over the years, from 10-Yard Fight and the Tecmo Bowl series for the NES to the more well known Madden series that have been released annually since 1988. The Madden series is named after former coach and American football commentator John Madden. Prior to the 2005–2006 football season, other NFL games were produced by competing video game publishers, such as 2K Games and Midway Games. However, in December 2004, Electronic Arts signed a five-year exclusive agreement with the NFL, meaning only Electronic Arts will be permitted to publish games featuring NFL team and player names. This prompted video game developer Midway Games to release a game in 2005 called ''Blitz: The League'', with fictitious teams and players. In February 2008, EA Sports renewed their exclusivity agreement with the league through Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. A free flash based online game called Quick Hit Football was released in 2009 and was granted an official NFL license in 2010.

Management

Commissioners and presidents #Temporary Secretary Ralph Hay (1920) #President Jim Thorpe (September 17, 1920 – April 30, 1921) #President Joseph Carr (April 30, 1921 – May 20, 1939) #President Carl Storck (May 25, 1939 – April 5, 1941) #Commissioner Elmer Layden (March 1, 1941 – January 11, 1946) #Commissioner Bert Bell (January 11, 1946 – October 11, 1959) #Interim President Austin Gunsel (October 14, 1959 – January 26, 1960, following death of Bell) #Commissioner Alvin "Pete" Rozelle (January 26, 1960 – November 5, 1989) #Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (November 5, 1989 – September 1, 2006) #Commissioner Roger Goodell (September 1, 2006–present)''

Main league offices

Canton (1920–1921)

Columbus (1921–1941)

Chicago (1941–1946)

Philadelphia (1946–1960)

New York City (1960–present)

Franchise owners

Unlike many professional leagues, the NFL forbids corporate owners. Ownership groups must contain twenty-four or fewer individuals, and at least one partner must hold a thirty percent or greater share of the team. The Green Bay Packers are an exemption to the current policy, since they have been a publicly owned stock corporation since before the rule was in place.

In recent years, NFL owners and the NFL itself have become politically active, donating millions of dollars to political candidates.

Uniform numbers

In the NFL, players wear uniform numbers based on the position they play. The current system was instituted into the league on April 5, 1973, as a means for fans and officials (referees, linesmen) to more easily identify players on the field by their position. Players who were already in the league at that date were grandfathered and did not have to change their uniform numbers if they did not conform. Since that date, players are invariably assigned numbers within the following ranges, based on their primary position:

Quarterbacks, Placekickers and Punters: 1–19

Wide Receivers: 10–19 and 80–89

Running Backs and Defensive Backs: 20–49

Offensive Linemen: 50–79

Linebackers: 50–59 and 90–99, or 40–49 if all are taken

Defensive Linemen: 50–79 and 90–99

Tight Ends: 80–89, or 40–49

Prior to 2004, wide receivers were allowed to wear only numbers 80–89. The NFL changed the rule that year to allow wide receivers to wear numbers 10–19 to allow for the increased number of players at wide receiver and tight end coming into the league. Linebackers are allowed to wear numbers between 40–49 when all of the numbers 50–59 and 90–99 are taken. Prior to that, players were allowed to wear non-standard numbers only if their team had run out of numbers within the prescribed number range. Keyshawn Johnson began wearing number 19 in 1996 because the New York Jets had run out of numbers in the 80s. Oakland Raider offensive center Jim Otto wore a 00 jersey during most of his career with the AFL team and kept the number after the leagues merged. Devin Hester is a wide receiver/return specialist for the Chicago Bears but wears number 23 because he was drafted as a cornerback but transferred to wide receiver after his rookie year.

Occasionally, players will petition the NFL to allow them to wear a number that is not in line with the numbering system. Brad Van Pelt, a linebacker who entered the NFL in with the New York Giants, wore number 10 during his eleven seasons with the club, despite not being covered by the grandfather clause. In 2006, New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush petitioned the NFL to let him keep the number 5 which he used at USC. His request was later denied. Former Seattle Seahawks standout Brian Bosworth attempted such a petition in 1987 (to wear his collegiate number of 44 at the linebacker position which he used at the University of Oklahoma), also without success. The Seahawks attempted to get around the rule by listing Bosworth as a safety, but after he wore number 44 for a game against the Kansas City Chiefs, the NFL ruled Bosworth would have to switch back to his original number, 55.

To aid the officials in spotting certain penalties, such as "illegal formation" or "ineligible receiver", usually only offensive players with numbers 1–49 and 80–89 are allowed to play at the end or back positions or handle the ball in normal game situations. However, a player wearing 50–79 or 90–99 may play in an "eligible" position simply by reporting to the referee that he will be doing so. The NFL numbering system is based on a player's ''primary'' position. Any player wearing any number may play at any position on the field at any time, subject to the reporting rules described above. It is not uncommon for running backs to line up at wide receiver on certain plays, or even to have a large offensive or defensive lineman play at fullback or tight end in short yardage situations. Also, in preseason games, when teams have expanded rosters, players may wear numbers that are outside of the above rules. When the final 53-player roster is established, they are reissued numbers within the above guidelines.

Awards

AFC Championship Game (Lamar Hunt Trophy)

NFC Championship Game (George S. Halas Trophy)

NFL Coach of the Year Award

NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Award

NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

NFL Most Valuable Player Award

NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award

Pete Rozelle Trophy (Super Bowl MVP)

Pro Bowl MVP

Vince Lombardi Trophy

Walter Payton Man of the Year Award

Discontinued awards

AFL All-Star Game MVP

Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup

Ed Thorp Memorial Trophy

UPI AFL-AFC Player of the Year

UPI NFC Player of the Year

UPI NFL MVP

Cheerleading

26 of the 32 NFL teams are supported by their own professional cheerleading squads. These squads attend games and promote the team. The teams without cheerleading squads are the Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, New York Giants, and Detroit Lions.

See also

Association of Professional Football Leagues

Coaching tree

Comparison of Canadian and American football

List of National Football League head coaches

Defunct NFL teams

Football Canada

Glossary of American football

History of the National Football League in Los Angeles

Instant replay in American football

Lists of American football players

List of current National Football League stadiums

List of current NFL announcers

List of famous American sports figures who became politicians

List of Professional Football Drafts

List of professional sports teams in the United States and Canada

List of sports attendance figures — the NFL's attendance in a worldwide context

List of TV markets and major sports teams

List of American and Canadian cities by number of major professional sports franchises

National Football League depth charts

NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team

NFL All-Decade Teams

NFL attendance

NFL Blitz

NFL Charities

NFL Cheerleading

NFL Films

NFL franchise moves and mergers

NFL Lore

NFL Network

List of NFL nicknames

NFL Street series

Personal seat license

Pro Football Hall of Fame

USA Football

Regular seasons

List of NFL seasons

List of NFL tied games (since 1974)

National Football League rivalries

National Football League: Last to First

Run to the Playoffs Thursday and Saturday Night Football

Postseasons

Active NFL playoff appearance streaks

History of NFL Championships

List of Current NFL franchise post-season droughts

List of NFL champions

List of Super Bowl champions

NFC Championship Game

National Football League playoffs

One-game playoff

Professional American football championship games

Brunswick-Balke Collender Cup

Records

NFL Individual Records

NFL opening day standings

NFL Standings since 1920

NFL Standings since AFL-NFL merger

NFL Team-Oriented Records

Super Bowl records

Related football leagues

All American Football League

All-America Football Conference

American Football League

American Youth Football

Canadian Football League

List of leagues of American and Canadian football

NFL Europa

United Football League

References

Notes

Bibliography

MacCambridge, Michael (2004–2005), ''America's Game''. New York:Anchor Books ISBN ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6

External links

Official NFL Players Association (labor union) website

Official Super Bowl website

NFL History – Champion and Award Lists

NFL Digest of Rules

ESPN.com's NFL Section

NFL Video at ESPN's Video Archive

Pro Football Reference – Historical stats of every team, player and coach in the NFL

Playerfilter – Sortable and exportable player, game and season data

NFL's Economic Model Shows Signs of Strain

Process of game-time decisions will eliminate TV duds, create chaos by Michael Hiestand, USA Today, April 5, 2006 (Last accessed April 5, 2006)

Five NFL teams worth over $1 billion

Gadget for iGoogle NFL standings and schedule

1 Category:Cooperatives in the United States Category:Organizations established in 1920 Category:Professional sports leagues Category:Supraorganizations

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Width	280px
Currentteam	Indianapolis Colts
Currentnumber	18
Currentposition	Quarterback
Birth date	March 24, 1976
Birth place	New Orleans, Louisiana
Heightft	6
Heightin	5
Weight	230
Debutyear	1998
Debutteam	Indianapolis Colts
Highlights	Rated #8 NFL Player of all-time by NFL.com as of 2009 season 11× Pro Bowl selection (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010) 5× First-team All-Pro selection (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) 3× Second-team All-Pro selection (1999, 2000, 2006) 4× AP NFL MVP (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009) 6× AFC Player of the Year (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) Indianapolis Colts All-time leader (Career Wins, Passing Touchdowns , Pass Attempts, Pass Completions and Passing Yards) Pro Bowl MVP (2005) Super Bowl Champion (XLI) Super Bowl MVP (XLI) Fastest ever to reach 50,000 yards passing Fastest to 1,000 completions Fastest to 2,000 completions Fastest to 3,000 completions Fastest to 4,000 completions NFL 2000s All-Decade Team Other awards and honors
College	Tennessee
Draftyear	1998
Draftround	1
Draftpick	1
Status	Active
Pastteams	Indianapolis Colts (–present)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	7,210
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	4,682
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	64.9
Statlabel4	TD-INT
Statvalue4	399–198
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	54,828
Statlabel6	Passer rating
Statvalue6	94.9
Nfl	MAN515097 }}

Peyton Williams Manning (born March 24, 1976) is an American football quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League. Manning holds the record for most NFL MVP awards with four. He was drafted by the Colts as the first overall pick in 1998 after a standout college football career with the Tennessee Volunteers. He is the son of former NFL quarterback Archie Manning and the older brother of current New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning.

Manning holds NFL records for consecutive seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing and the most total seasons with 4,000 or more yards passing in a career. Manning holds the sixth highest career passer rating (94.9) in NFL history and the highest single-season passer rating (121.1 in 2004). He is the all-time Colts franchise leader in career wins, career passing yards, pass attempts, pass completions, and passing touchdowns.

In 2009, he was listed by ''The Sporting News'' as the No. 1 player in the NFL today. Also in 2009, Fox Sports named him player of the decade.

Since the Colts drafted Manning in 1998, the team has the highest conversion rate on 3rd down (44.6%) and 4th down (61.1%) plays in the NFL. While leading the Colts to their Super Bowl XLI victory in 2007, Manning helped the team to an NFL record by converting 56.1% of its 3rd downs.

An extremely marketable player outside of football, Manning has appeared in numerous commercials, was featured on the covers of the ''NFL Fever'' games for the Xbox, hosted an episode of ''Saturday Night Live'', and guest-voiced on ''The Simpsons'', along with his brothers, Eli and Cooper.

Manning's pre-snap routine has become one of the most recognizable scenes in the NFL. Prior to each play in a football game, the offensive team generally huddles; however, Manning and the Colts almost always skip the huddle, instead using a hurry-up offense with numerous audibles at the line of scrimmage. In 2010, he was named the eighth best player in NFL history, according to the NFL's top 100 show, and is the only active player in the top 10 category.

High school career

Manning attended Isidore Newman School in New Orleans, Louisiana. He led his team to a 34–5 record during three seasons as starter. He was named Gatorade Circle of Champions National Player-of-the-Year and Columbus (Ohio) Touchdown Club National Offensive Player-of-the-Year in 1993.

College career

Manning stunned many when he chose to attend the University of Tennessee instead of Ole Miss, his father's alma mater. He became Tennessee's all-time leading passer with 11,201 yards and 89 touchdowns and won 39 of 45 games as a starter, breaking the Southeastern Conference (SEC) record for career wins.

As a freshman, Manning was the third-string quarterback, but injuries to Todd Helton and Jerry Colquitt forced him to take over the Mississippi State game, a 24–21 loss. In his first start, the following week against Washington State, the Vols won, 10–9, and the Vols won all but one of their remaining games, finishing the season 8–4 with a 45–23 victory over Virginia Tech in the Gator Bowl.

Manning and the Vols started off the 1995 season with victories over East Carolina and Georgia, before heading off to Gainesville to play the Gators. Against Florida, he threw for 326 yards and 2 touchdowns, leading the Vols to a 30–21 halftime lead. However, the Gators outscored the Vols 41–7 in the second half, winning 62–37. This would be the Vols' only loss of the season, as they won their remaining 8 regular season games, including a 41–14 win over Alabama and then defeated Ohio State in the Citrus Bowl. The Vols ended the season ranked third and Manning came in sixth in Heisman Trophy voting.

The Vols opened the 1996 season ranked second behind Nebraska and one of the favorites to win the national championship. However, after winning their first two games against UNLV and UCLA, the Vols again lost to Florida, 35–29, with Manning throwing four interceptions. After winning their next four games, the Vols were upset by Memphis, despite Manning passing for 296 yards. The Vols won the remainder of their games, including a 48–28 win in the Citrus Bowl over Northwestern, a game in which Manning passed for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns; he was named the game's MVP.

Manning completed his degree in three years, and was projected to be the top overall pick in the NFL Draft, but returned to Tennessee for his senior year. In his senior season, the Vols opened the season with victories against Texas Tech and UCLA, but for the third time in his career, Manning fell to Florida, 33–20. The Vols won the rest of their regular season games, finishing 10–1, and advanced to the SEC Championship game against Auburn. Down 20–7, Manning led the Vols to a 30–29 victory. Throwing for 4 touchdowns, he was named the game's MVP, but injured himself in the process. The 3rd-ranked Vols were matched-up with 2nd-ranked Nebraska in the Orange Bowl; if Tennessee won and top-ranked Michigan lost to Washington State in the Rose Bowl, the Vols would win the national championship. However, the Vols' defense could not stop Nebraska's rushing attack, giving up over 400 rushing yards in a 42–17 loss. As a senior, Manning won numerous awards; he was a consensus First-team All-American, the Maxwell Award winner, the Davey O'Brien Award winner, the Johnny Unitas Award winner, and the Best College Player ESPY award winner, among others; however, he did not win the Heisman, finishing runner-up to Charles Woodson. In 2005, Tennessee retired Manning's number (#16). One of the streets leading to Neyland Stadium has been re-named Peyton Manning Pass. Manning was elected to Phi Beta Kappa Society in 1997.

Professional career

1998 season: Rookie season

Manning was selected first overall in the 1998 draft by the Indianapolis Colts. In his rookie season, he passed for 3,739 yards with 26 touchdowns, set five different NFL rookie records, including most touchdown passes in a season, and was named to the NFL All-Rookie First Team. Manning's first win came against fellow rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf, 17–12 over the Chargers. Weeks later, Manning faced off against Steve Young; he threw three touchdowns, tying a Colts rookie record, but the 49ers kicked a late field goal to win, 34–31. In November against the Jets, Manning threw for three touchdowns in a 24–23 win; he was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this performance. It was the first game-winning drive of Manning's career, as he hit Marcus Pollard with the game-winning TD pass. Manning was certainly a bright spot in 1998 for the Colts, but he also threw a league high 28 interceptions as the team struggled to a 3–13 record, with a defense that surrendered more than 27 points per game. The Colts lost many close games, including five games in which they had led by double-digits at some point.

1999 season: First 4,000 Yard season

The Colts opened the 1999 season with a 31–14 victory over Buffalo, but gave up a 28–7 lead the following week against the Patriots and lost. After defeating San Diego 27–19 in a game in which Manning threw for over 400 yards, and was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for they lost again, to Miami. The Colts responded by winning 11 of their remaining 12 games, finishing 13–3 and the AFC East champions. The 10 game turnaround from the previous year set an NFL record. As the second seed in the AFC, the Colts earned a first round bye, and faced Tennessee in the playoffs. The Colts lost 19–16 to the Super Bowl bound Titans and Manning was limited to one touchdown run. Manning finished the year with 4,135 passing yards and 26 passing touchdowns, and was named both Second-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl, both firsts for him. In the Pro Bowl, he passed for 270 yards with 2 touchdowns.

2000 season

The Colts started the 2000 season inconsistently. Following an opening week victory against Kansas City, they blew a 21–0 lead against the Raiders. The Colts responded with a Monday Night victory against Jacksonville, a 43–14 win in which Manning threw for 430 yards and 4 touchdowns; Manning was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this performance. The Colts won 4 of their next 5 games, including one against New England in which Manning posted the first perfect passer rating of his career, but then lost 4 of the 5 games following that. The Colts regained their momentum, winning their final 3 games, including a 31–10 win over Minnesota on Week 17. Manning threw for 4 touchdowns in the win and was again named AFC Offensive Player of the Week and the win gave the Colts a 10–6 record as well as a wild card spot in the playoffs. In the wild card game, the Colts fell to the Dolphins, 23–17 in overtime. Manning passed for 194 yards and a touchdown in the loss. He finished the season with and and was named Second-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl. At the Pro Bowl, Manning threw two touchdown passes.

2001 season

Manning and the Colts introduced the league to their now-signature no-huddle offense, and used it to great effect in a Week 1 rout of the Jets, 45–24. Two weeks later (Week two games were not played as scheduled due to the 9/11 attacks, the Colts advanced to 2–0 with a win over Buffalo, behind Manning's 421 yards passing. He was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this game. However, the Colts lost the following week to New England, and continued their slide losing their following two games. The Colts briefly rebounded, winning two games, but then lost seven of their last nine, including a 40-21 home loss to the 49ers. After Manning threw a career-high four interceptions in that game, coach Jim Mora uttered his infamous "Playoffs? Don't talk about playoffs. Are you kidding me. Playoffs? I'm just hoping we can win a game, another game" press conference. Despite the 6-10 record, Manning finished the season with , , and 4 rushing touchdowns as the offense produced the second most points in the league. However, the defense allowed the most points and Jim Mora was fired after the season.

2002 season

Tony Dungy would become Manning's second head coach in the NFL. The Colts started off the 2002 season 4–1, before a 3 game losing streak sent them to 4–4. The Colts responded by winning all but two of their remaining games, including a 35–13 upset of the Eagles in which Manning had a perfect passer rating for the second time in his career, giving them a 10–6 record and a spot in the playoffs. However, the Colts were pummeled by the Jets in the Wild Card game, 41–0, with Manning passing for only 137 yards. He finished the year with and and was named to the Pro Bowl team. In the Pro Bowl, Manning completed five of eleven passes for 100 yards and a touchdown.

2003 season: First MVP

The 2003 Colts began the season 5–0, including a 55–21 blowout of the Saints in which Manning played his third perfect passer rating game and threw a career-high six TD passes, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. On Monday Night Football against the defending champion Buccaneers, Manning and the Colts trailed 35-14 in the final five minutes. After one short TD drive, the Colts recovered the onside kick. Manning threw a 28 yard TD pass to Marvin Harrison on 4th & 6 to make it 35-28. With 1:41 remaining, Manning got the ball back and drove the offense 85 yards for the game-tying TD. He set up the 29 yard winning field goal in overtime for a stunning 38-35 win. It was the first and only time in NFL history a team won a game after trailing by 21 points in the final 4 minutes of regulation. Manning passed for 386 yards in the game.

After an overtime loss to Carolina, the Colts won all but three of their remaining games, finishing 12–4. On November 30 the Colts hosted the 9-2 Patriots in what would be the beginning of the NFL's top rivalry of the 2000s. The Colts trailed 31-10 late in the third quarter before Manning threw three TD passes in a span of six minutes to tie the game. Trailing 38-34 in the final minutes, the Colts had three plays at the one yard line to try and score the winning TD. Edgerrin James was stuffed on 4th down by Willie McGinest and the Patriots won. In a Week 14 win against Atlanta, Manning threw for five touchdowns and was named player of the week a second time. He also earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors for the month of October.

In the Wild Card playoff round Manning and the Colts defeated the Denver Broncos 41–10, his first playoff win. He passed for 377 yards and 5 touchdowns in the game, earning him a perfect passer rating, his second of the season and the fourth of his career. After the game, Manning was awarded Player of the Week honors for the third time that season. In the divisional playoffs, Manning led the Colts to a 38–31 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. Neither team punted in the game. In the AFC title game Manning was shut down by the New England Patriots top-ranked defense and posted the third lowest passer rating of his career at 35.5. The Patriots defense intercepted Manning four times and sacked him another four, as the Colts lost the game 24–14.

During the season, Manning was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September and was named the AP NFL co-MVP along with Titans quarterback Steve McNair. Manning also received the ESPY Award for Best NFL Player. Manning led the league with and threw 29 touchdowns; he was named First-team All-Pro and to the Pro Bowl. He passed for 342 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Pro Bowl, a 55–52 loss.

2004 season: Second MVP

The 2004 Colts opened the season with a 27–24 loss to the Patriots, after Mike Vanderjagt missed a game tying field goal in the closing seconds of the game. The Colts won their next four games including a 45–31 win over Green Bay in which Manning threw 5 touchdowns, earning him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, but then lost their next two games, to Jacksonville and Kansas City, despite Manning throwing for 840 yards combined in the two games. The Colts responded well, winning their next 8 games before losing their final regular season game to Denver, a game in which Manning played only the first series. During the month of November, Manning was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week twice; once for his 5 touchdown performance in a 49–14 blowout of Houston and once for his performance in a 41–9 win at Detroit on Thanksgiving in which he threw 6 touchdowns in less than three quarters. Due to his performances in November, Manning earned AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for a fourth time in the week 16 game against San Diego where he led the Colts to a 34–31 victory after trailing by fifteen in the fourth quarter. With the Colts facing a 4th & 4 at their own 26, Manning waved the punt team off the field and completed a 19 yard pass to Reggie Wayne for the first down. He finished the drive with a 21 yard TD pass to Brandon Stokley, his 49th TD pass of the season, breaking Dan Marino's record of 48. After the two point conversion to tie, Manning got the ball first in overtime and set up the winning field goal. The Colts clinched the AFC's third seed with the win.

During the season, Manning threw for 4,557 yards, had a record 121.1 passer rating and record 49 touchdown passes (since broken)., He was selected as the 2004 NFL MVP drawing 49 of 50 votes, was named NFL Offensive Player of the Year and was named the Best NFL Player at the ESPY Awards for the second consecutive year; Manning also received the ESPY Award for Best Record-Breaking Performance for his 49 touchdown passes. The Colts finished the season with a 12–4 record and their second straight AFC South title. Three Colts receivers had 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns that season, also a record.

In the Wild Card game against Denver, Manning passed for 458 yards and 4 touchdowns. However, the Colts' 2004 season ended in Foxborough for a second straight year with a 20–3 loss against New England, when Manning recorded a season-low passer rating of 69.3. It was Manning's seventh consecutive loss to the Patriots in Foxborough and the Colts' three points were their lowest single game point total since their opening game of the 2003 season. Manning was named a Pro Bowl starter; in the Pro Bowl, he threw 3 touchdowns in a 38–27 victory and was named the game's MVP. Manning was also a unanimous First-team All-Pro selection.

2005 season

In 2005, the Colts had a greatly improved defense over that of recent years. Combining this with their offense, they won their first 13 games, including a 40–21 rout of the two-time defending Super Bowl Champions, New England. This was Manning's first road win against the Patriots in 8 attempts, and his 3 touchdowns passes earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors. By week 15, the Colts had a perfect 13–0 record, and had secured the AFC South and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Nevertheless, Tony Dungy made the decision to play all of his regular starters against the Chargers. However, the Colts played a sub-par game against the Chargers and fell short of the win; the score was 26–17. Manning finished the season with , the first time he had thrown for under 4,000 yards since his rookie season of 1998, largely because Manning sat out much of the final two games with the top AFC seed clinched. His quarterback rating of 104.1 was the highest in the league for the season.

In the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Steelers visited the RCA Dome for the second AFC divisional playoff game of the 2005 season. In the 4th quarter with only a few minutes left in the game, Manning threw what looked to be the game-ending interception to Troy Polamalu, but the interception was overturned (a call the NFL later admitted was incorrect). The Colts went on to score, and were able to get the ball back down three points near the end of the game. On 4th down, Manning was sacked near his own goal line, and the game seemed to be over as the Steelers were one yard from a touchdown. On the next play, the ball was fumbled by Jerome Bettis and picked up by Colts defender Nick Harper who appeared to have a clear path down the sideline for what might have been the game-winning score. However, Steelers' quarterback Ben Roethlisberger managed to dive in front of Harper and tackle him by the leg, saving a touchdown. Then the Colts drove down the field to the Steelers 27 yard line, before Mike Vanderjagt missed a field goal as time ran out.

Manning came in second in voting for the MVP award to Shaun Alexander ending his streak at two years. He was named the 2005 winner of the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award and nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Year Award, along with Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. Manning was also named First-team All-Pro for the third consecutive year and named to the Pro Bowl squad; in the Pro Bowl, he threw one touchdown pass and three interceptions.

2006 season: Super Bowl championship

Manning opened the 2006 season against his brother Eli's New York Giants on Sunday Night Football (the first "Manning Bowl"). It was the first NFL game with starting quarterbacks that were brothers, and Peyton's team won 26-21. Manning passed for 400 yards against the Texans in a 43-24 victory, which earned him AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors (he also won the award for his 345 yards and 4 TD passes against the Redskins in week 7). A second trip to New York, this time to play the Jets, produced another Colts win. After taking the lead twice in the fourth quarter, Manning had to lead a third scoring drive, this time finishing with a 1-yard QB sneak rushing TD in the last minute for a 31-28 win.

At Denver, Manning again led three scoring drives in the fourth quarter in a 34-31 shootout win. He completed 32 of 39 passes for 345 yards and 3 TDs. Following a second straight season with a win at New England, then a home win against Buffalo, the Colts were the NFL's last unbeaten team at 9-0. Their first loss would come in Dallas. Plagued by a run defense that would allow over 100 yards in every game, the Colts were 11-4 heading into their final game. Against Miami, Manning threw for 282 yards, 2 TDs and rushed for another TD. The Colts won 27-22, were AFC South division champions, and clinched the third seed in the AFC playoffs. Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week. He ended the regular season with 4,397 passing yards and a league-leading 31 touchdown passes. His passer rating (101.0) was the highest in the league for the third year in a row. Manning helped the offense set a NFL record for third down conversion rate in a season (56.1%).

Despite three interceptions, Manning completed 30 out of 38 passes as the Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild Card playoff game by a score of 23–8. The following week they were limited to five field goals and no touchdowns, but defeated the Baltimore Ravens, 15–6. In the AFC Championship game against the rival Patriots, the Colts trailed 14–3 when Manning threw an interception that was returned for a TD by Asante Samuel to give New England a 21-3 lead. Manning led the Colts to 32 points in the second half for a 38-34 victory, the final score coming late in the fourth quarter as Manning led the Colts on an 80-yard TD drive to take the lead for the first time in the game. He finished the game with 349 yards passing and two touchdowns (1 rushing). The comeback was the largest deficit ever overcome in a conference championship.

Manning led the Colts to a 29–17 victory over the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI and was voted Super Bowl MVP. Manning, who had been criticized for failing to win big games, exorcised his big-game demons with the win. "In years' past when our team's come up short, it's been disappointing," he told reporters. "Somehow we found a way to have learned from some of those losses and we've been a better team because of it." For his role in the Colts' championship run, Manning was awarded the ESPY for Best Championship Performance. Manning was again named to the Pro Bowl and was also named Second-team All-Pro; in the Pro Bowl he played only two series, passing for 67 yards. Following the Super Bowl win, Manning agreed to restructure his contract to save the Colts $8.2 million in salary cap space.

2007 season

Manning's Colts opened the NFL season with 7 wins, pitting them against an undefeated Patriots squad in a match-up that was being called "Super Bowl 41.5". Manning and Addai helped the Colts to a 13–7 half-time lead, and an early fourth quarter touchdown upped the lead to 20–10. However, Brady led the Patriots to two late touchdowns, to hand Manning his first loss of the season, 24–20. Manning finished the game with 225 yards passing, including a passing touchdown. He also had a rushing touchdown.

Manning did not bounce back from the loss well. Against the San Diego Chargers he threw for a career-worst and franchise-record 6 interceptions. Despite this, he was able to rally the Colts from a 23–0 deficit to 23–21, and gave Adam Vinatieri an opportunity to take the lead with a 29-yard field goal. Vinatieri's miss sunk the Colts to 7–2. Manning did not play particularly well against the Kansas City Chiefs either, throwing no touchdowns. However, he managed to lead the Colts on a late drive for a game-winning field goal, rushing for two yards on 4th and 1 in the process. Manning finished the game with , allowing him to overtake 40,000 in his career. The victory was Manning's 100th. The Colts won their next 5 games, securing yet another AFC South title, as well as the AFC's number two seed in the play-offs. In the final game of the regular season, Manning played only two series before being replaced with back-up Jim Sorgi; the Colts lost the game to the Titans, 16–10. Manning finished the season with , , and a quarterback rating of 98.0. In the divisional round of the playoffs, Manning and the Colts lost to the Chargers, 28–24. Manning helped the Colts to 4 different leads but could not lead a final touchdown drive for the win. Manning finished the game with and . Peyton was widely viewed during Super Bowl XLII as he cheered on brother Eli and the New York Giants in their upset of the New England Patriots. Manning was named a Pro Bowl starter and passed for 147 yards and a touchdown in three series.

2008 season: Third MVP

On July 14, 2008, Manning had surgery to remove an infected bursa sac in his left knee. Manning, who had worn a knee brace due to problems since he was in college, sat out all four preseason games and missed most of training camp.

In the first regular season game at new Lucas Oil Stadium, the Colts lost 29–13 to the Chicago Bears. The following week they fell behind 15–0 to the Minnesota Vikings in the 2nd half before rallying to win the game on Adam Vinatieri's 47 yard field goal. Manning passed for 311 yards as the Colts avoided their first 0–2 start since Manning's rookie season. Week 3 matched the Colts with division rival Jacksonville. Manning threw 2 interceptions in the game, including one that was returned for a TD by Rashean Mathis. Jacksonville rushed for 236 yards and held the ball for over 41 minutes. Still, trailing by 6 late in the game Manning led the Colts on a 77-yard TD drive to take a 21–20 lead. Jacksonville kicker Josh Scobee made a 51 yard field goal to win the game and drop the Colts to 1–2.

For the third week in a row, Manning used the 4th quarter to bring the Colts back from a 27–10 deficit in the last 5 minutes against the Houston Texans to a 31–27 victory. It was the first time an NFL team had won a game in regulation after trailing by 17 points in the last 5 minutes. Manning threw a 7 yard TD pass on 4th & 6 to rookie tight end Tom Santi to make the deficit 27–17. Houston QB Sage Rosenfels, starting for the injured Matt Schaub, then fumbled the ball on a scramble, and it was returned 68 yards for a TD by Gary Brackett. After another Rosenfels fumble, Manning threw the 5-yard game-winning TD pass to Reggie Wayne. The Colts scored 3 TDs in 2:10.

On October 12 Manning led the Colts to a 31–3 blow out win at Lucas Oil Stadium against the Baltimore Ravens to avoid their first 0–3 start at home since 1997. Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 17th time in his career for his effort of 3 TD passes and 271 yards passing. It was revealed during the game by CBS commentators Jim Nantz and Phil Simms that Manning had a second surgery on his knee before the season started. Colts coach Tony Dungy confirmed this report the day after the Baltimore game.

The Colts suffered their largest margin of defeat, 34–14, in Green Bay the following week. Manning threw 2 interceptions that were returned for touchdowns (2nd time in career; 1st was 9/30/01 vs. New England Patriots). The next week the Colts went into Tennessee on Monday Night Football to face the 6–0 Titans. They led 14–6 in the 3rd quarter, but Tennessee scored 25 unanswered for a 31–21 victory and almost assured the Colts they would not win the AFC South division title for the first time in 6 seasons. At 3–4 the Colts opened up November with their annual showdown against the New England Patriots on Sunday Night Football. The game lacked the luster the rivalry has carried, as there was no Tom Brady, no undefeated season on the line, and neither team was in 1st place of their division. Still, the game was close all the way. Tied at 15 in the 4th quarter, Manning set up Adam Vinatieri for a 52 yard field goal that proved to be the winning points in an 18–15 victory. Manning completed 21 of 29 passes for 254 yards, 2 touchdowns and no interceptions. The Colts were 4–4 halfway through the season and still alive in the AFC playoff race.

In week 10 the Colts traveled to Pittsburgh, who had the league's #1 defense. They trailed 17–7 in the 2nd quarter before Manning found Dallas Clark for a 2-yard TD to end the half 17–14. Down 20–17 in the 4th quarter, Manning found Dominic Rhodes uncovered for a 17 yard TD pass that would put the Colts up 24–20 for the rest of the game. It was Manning's 4th game-winning drive (35th of his career) this season. He completed 21 of 40 for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns (the 50th game of his career with 3+ TD passes). It was the first time the Colts have won in Pittsburgh since 1968 (12 straight losses before this win). Against Houston, Manning passed for 320 yards and 2 TDs while leading 5 consecutive scoring drives in a 33–27 victory, the third in a row for the Colts. Manning won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 2nd time this season (18th time, career)

At San Diego, Manning threw for 255 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT in a 23–20 victory. The interception snapped a career-best streak of 140 pass attempts without an interception. After the Chargers rallied from a 10 point deficit in the 4th to tie the game, Manning led the game-winning drive by completing a 14 yard pass to Marvin Harrison on 4th and inches at midfield. Adam Vinateri kicked the winning 51 yard field goal three plays later. It was Manning's 5th game-winning drive this season. Manning passed for a season-low 125 yards at Cleveland, but the Colts won their 5th straight game, by a final of 10–6.

In a 35–3 victory against the Cincinnati Bengals, Manning threw 3 TD passes while completing 26 of 32 passes for 277 yards. It marked the 11th straight season Manning had thrown at least 20 TD passes, the 2nd longest streak ever. Against the 0–13 Detroit Lions, the Colts found themselves in a 21–21 game in the 4th quarter. Manning led his 6th game-winning drive of the season and the Colts pulled away 31–21. It marked their 7th straight win, 7th straight season with 10+ wins, and they became the only team in NFL history to have a winning streak of at least 7 games in 5 straight seasons. Manning completed 28 of 37 passes for 318 yards and 1 TD.

Needing a win to clinch the 5th seed in the playoffs, Manning had one of his best career performances in Jacksonville on Thursday Night Football. He completed his first 17 passes of the game. In addition to completing his last 6 against Detroit, Manning's 23 straight completions fell one shy of the NFL record (Donovan McNabb – 24). The Colts trailed 14–0 in the first half and 24–14 to start the 4th quarter. Manning led his 7th 4th quarter win of the season and the Colts put the game away with a defensive TD for a 31–24 victory to clinch a 7th consecutive playoff berth. Manning completed 29 of 34 passes (85.7%) for 364 yards and 3 TDs. It increased his NFL record streak of seasons with 25 TD passes to 11. Manning and the Colts tied a NFL record by winning 3 games in a season in which they trailed by at least 14 points. For his efforts Manning won AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in 2008. It was the 19th time he has won the award, passing Dan Marino for the most all-time since the award was originated in 1984. He also was selected as the FedEx Air Player of the Week. With the playoff seed secured, Manning only played the opening drive in a shutout against the division-leading Titans in Week 17. He completed all 7 of his passes for 95 yards and a TD, extending his NFL record to nine seasons with 4000 yards passing, and also extended the record to a sixth straight season he led the Colts to at least 12 wins. At the end of the 2008 season, Manning was named NFL MVP for the 3rd time, tying Brett Favre for the most MVP awards in NFL history.

The day following the MVP award, the Colts played their 2007 nemesis, the Chargers, in their wild-card playoff game. Down 14–10 at the half, Manning put the Colts ahead 17–14 in the third quarter as he completed a 72-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Reggie Wayne. But the Chargers tied the game in the fourth quarter as kicker Nate Kaeding nailed a 22-yard field goal. When San Diego won the coin toss, they scored on the first possession, ending the Colts season.

2009 season: Fourth MVP and Second Super Bowl appearance

Week 1 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (W 14–12): Under new head coach Jim Caldwell, Manning started the 2009 season with a victory by throwing for 301 yards.

Week 2 at Miami Dolphins (W 27–23): On Monday Night Football, Manning led his 29th fourth quarter comeback (38th game-winning drive) by throwing for 303 yards and 2 TD passes, despite only having the ball for 14:53, the lowest time of possession for a winning team in the NFL since they began tracking the statistic in 1977. The win was Manning's 119th in the regular season, moving him past Johnny Unitas for 5th all time.

Week 3 at Arizona Cardinals (W 31–10): Manning passed for 379 yards and had 4 TD passes for the 18th time in his career (moving him ahead of Johnny Unitas into third on the NFL career list) in his first ever NFL game played in Arizona. It was his 50th regular season game with 300 yards passing (third consecutive). For his efforts in September, Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for the fourth time in his career.

Week 4 vs Seattle Seahawks (W 34–17): Manning passed for 353 yards and 2 TDs. His fourth consecutive 300-yard passing game set a new franchise record.

Week 5 at Tennessee Titans (W 31–9): Manning passed for 309 yards and 3 TDs. In the process he moved into sole possession of 3rd place in passing touchdowns (345) and 5th all-time in passing yards (47,273), surpassing Fran Tarkenton in both categories.

Week 7 at St. Louis Rams (W 42–6): Though only throwing for 235 yards (ending his streak of five consecutive 300-yard passing games; record is 6), Manning threw three TD passes and led the Colts to their 15th straight regular season win and set a franchise-record with an eighth straight road win.

Week 8 vs. San Francisco 49ers (W 18–14): Held without a TD pass for the first time in 10 games, Manning threw for 347 yards and running back Joseph Addai threw the game-winning TD pass on a trick play to start the 4th quarter for Indy's 16th consecutive regular season win.

Week 9 vs. Houston Texans (W 20–17): Manning reached several milestones in leading the Colts to becoming the fourth team in NFL history with 17 straight regular-season wins. He moved past Fran Tarkenton for 4th all-time in wins with 125. He became the first quarterback to pass for over 40,000 yards in a decade. He threw a career-high 25 passes in the 1st quarter (most in any opening quarter since 1991), and had a career-high 40 pass attempts in the first half. He set a franchise record for most 300 yard passing games in a season with his seventh 300-yard effort of the season (also a NFL record through the first 8 games of a season ). He led his third 4th quarter comeback of the season.

Week 10 vs. New England Patriots (W 35–34): Trailing 31–14 early in the 4th quarter, Manning led the Colts on three touchdown drives for his 32nd 4th quarter comeback victory. He threw a 1-yard winning TD pass to Reggie Wayne with 13 seconds remaining. For the game, Manning had 4 TD passes and 327 yards passing, his eighth 300 yard passing game of the season. The 18 straight regular season wins are tied for the second longest streak in NFL history. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the 20th time.

Week 11 at Baltimore Ravens (W 17–15): Manning fell one yard shy of reaching 300 yards passing in the 19th consecutive regular season win for the Colts. For the first time in NFL history, a team won four straight games after trailing in the 4th quarter as Manning led the game-winning field goal drive. He surpassed 3000 yards passing for the 12th straight season.

Week 12 at Houston Texans (W 35–27): After trailing 17–0 in the second quarter, the Colts rallied back behind three Manning TD passes for their 20th straight regular season win to clinch the AFC South division title. It was the fifth straight game Manning led a game-winning drive in the 4th quarter, another NFL record. It was his 34th comeback win in the 4th quarter, tying him with John Elway and Johnny Unitas for the second most in NFL history.

Week 13 vs. Tennessee Titans (W 27–17): Manning used a 24–10 halftime lead and a time-consuming field goal drive in the 4th quarter to secure the Colts' record-tying 21st straight regular season win. They also extended their record to 7 straight seasons with at least 12 wins and tied the 1990 49ers for the most wins in a decade (113).

Week 14 vs. Denver Broncos (W 28–16): Manning threw 3 TD passes for a 21–0 lead, then after a season-high 3 interceptions, threw a game-clinching TD pass to Dallas Clark as the Colts clinched the #1 seed in the AFC, and set NFL records for most consecutive regular seasons wins (22) and most wins in a decade (114). It was also the 13th straight win at home, a franchise record.

Week 15 at Jacksonville Jaguars (W 35–31): For a record 7th time in a season (35th career), Manning led the Colts to victory after trailing in the 4th quarter on Thursday Night Football. In a performance similar to his MVP-clinching game in 2008 at Jacksonville, Manning completed 23 of 30 passes for 308 yards and 4 TDs. He was 12/12 in the first half with 2 TD passes on the only two offensive possessions the Colts had in the half. On 3rd & 5 with just over five minutes remaining in the game, Manning threw the 65 yard game winning TD pass to Reggie Wayne as the Colts became the third team to ever start a season 14–0 (1972 Dolphins, 2007 Patriots), and in the process, tied or broke several passing marks: Manning went over 4,000 yards passing for a record 10th time in his career. He had his ninth 300-yard passing game of the season, one shy of the NFL record of ten 300-yard passing games in a season. It was also the 21st time Manning threw 4 TDs in a game, tying Marino for 2nd all-time. Finally, his 23rd consecutive regular season win broke Jim McMahon's NFL record of 22 straight wins with the Chicago Bears from 1984-87.

Week 16 vs. New York Jets (L 29-15): Manning completed 14/21 passes for 192 yards to became the fourth QB in NFL history to pass for 50,000 yards, and is the fastest and youngest to reach that mark. However, the Colts suffered their first loss of the season, putting an end to the record 23 game streak in the regular season. After building a 9-0 lead, the Colts trailed 10-9 when the Jets returned the opening kickoff of the third quarter for a TD. Manning led the Colts on an 81 yard TD drive (two-point conversion failed) to take a 15-10 lead. With 5:36 remaining in the third quarter, rookie back up Curtis Painter replaced Manning at QB as Colts coach Jim Caldwell began to rest his starters for the remainder of the game. As the crowd booed the decision, Painter fumbled on his second possession and it was returned for the go ahead score. The Jets would outscore the Colts 19-0 after Manning was taken out. When asked about the decision, Manning said, "I was prepared that that potentially could be the case. I wasn't surprised when that news was told to me."

Week 17 at Buffalo Bills (L 30-7): Manning only played the first three series before sitting out the rest of the game, which was played in several inches of snow. He completed 14 of 18 passes for 95 yards and one interception to finish the season with 4,500 yards passing and a 99.9 passer rating. The Colts were outscored 49-7 since the decision to bench Manning and other starters in week 16 against the Jets.

Manning was awarded his fourth MVP, breaking the NFL record for most MVPs by a single player. He was also selected to the AP All-Pro team for the fifth time in his career.

AFC Divisional vs. Baltimore Ravens (W 20-3): Manning threw 2 TD passes late in the first half to build a 17-3 halftime lead which the defense would hold in the second half. He completed 30 passes for 246 yards in leading his eight straight victory over the Ravens.

AFC Championship vs. New York Jets (W 30-17) Against the top-ranked defense of the Jets, Manning overcame a 17-6 deficit late in the second quarter to lead the Colts to 24 unanswered points in a 30-17 win. He completed 26 of 39 passes for 377 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers in clinching his second Super Bowl appearance. The 11 point comeback was the third largest in a championship game (the largest being the 18 point rally Manning led against New England in the 2006 AFC Championship). Manning set a playoff record with his seventh 300 yard passing game in the postseason.

Super Bowl XLIV vs. New Orleans Saints (L 31-17) Against his hometown team, Manning led the Colts to a 10-0 lead after their two first quarter drives, throwing a TD pass to Pierre Garcon to cap off a 96 yard drive (tied for longest in Super Bowl history). After running just six plays in the second quarter, the Colts led 10-6 at halftime. The Saints recovered an onside kick to start the second half and took their first lead, 13-10. Manning led a go ahead TD drive to regain the lead. Leading 17-16 at the start of the 4th quarter, Matt Stover missed a 51 yard field goal for the Colts. The Saints scored the go ahead TD and two-point conversion to take a 24-17 lead with 5:42 left. Manning took over and moved the Colts to the Saints' 31 yard line. Facing a 3rd & 5 with 3:24 left, his pass intended for Reggie Wayne was intercepted by Tracy Porter, who returned it 74 yards for a critical TD and 31-17 Saints lead. Manning drove the Colts down to the 5 yard line in the last minute, but his 4th & goal pass was dropped by Reggie Wayne at the goal line. The Saints won their first Super Bowl, dropping Manning to 9-9 in the postseason (1-1 Super Bowl record). Manning passed for 333 yards on 31/45, with 1 TD and 1 interception.

2010 season

Week 1 at Houston Texans (L 34–24): In a season-opening loss in Houston, Manning set career highs in pass attempts (57) and completions (40), throwing for 3 TDs and 433 yards, the fourth highest opening-weekend total ever. It was his 8th 400 yard passing game in the regular season, putting him in sole possession of 2nd place all time (Dan Marino, 13).

Week 2 vs. New York Giants (W 38-14): Manning played against his brother Eli in the second "Manning Bowl" on Sunday Night Football. Peyton outdueled his brother, throwing for 3 TDs, and 255 yards.

Week 3 at Denver Broncos (W 27-13): Manning passed for 325 yards, 3 TDs and no interceptions, marking the first time since 1960 a QB began a season with three consecutive games of at least 3 TD passes and zero interceptions.

Week 4 at Jacksonville Jaguars (L 31-28): Manning led two different game-tying TD drives in the fourth quarter, the last coming with 0:48 remaining. Jacksonville won the game on a 59 yard field goal by Josh Scobee on the final play. Manning passed for 352 yards and 2 TDs, surpassing John Elway for third all time in career passing yardage.

Week 5 vs. Kansas City Chiefs (W 19-9): Manning failed to throw a TD for the first time in 2010, but led the Colts on a game-winning drive in the 4th quarter (45th of his career) to hand the Chiefs their first loss of the season.

Week 6 at Washington Redskins (W 27-24): Manning passed for 307 yards and 2 TDs on Sunday Night Football. Including the playoffs, he has 68 career games with 300+ yards passing, moving him ahead of Dan Marino (67) for the most in NFL history.

Week 8 vs. Houston Texans (W 30-17): Manning passed for 268 yards and 2 TDs to improve to 9-0 at home against the Texans and 11-3 on Monday Night Football, the best Monday night record for any starting QB (min. 10 wins).

Week 9 at Philadelphia Eagles (L 26-24): Making his 200th consecutive regular season start, Manning passed for 294 yards and a TD, but was intercepted twice by Asante Samuel; the second coming with six seconds remaining as Manning tried to get the Colts in position for a winning field goal.

Week 10 vs. Cincinnati Bengals (W 23-17): Manning was held to a season-low 185 yards passing and no touchdowns, but improved to 7-0 as a career starter against the Bengals.

Week 11 at New England Patriots (L 31-28): Trailing 31-14 in the fourth quarter, Manning threw two TD passes to Blair White to make it 31-28. After driving to the New England twenty-four, Manning's first down pass was intercepted by James Sanders with thirty-one seconds remaining, securing the Patriot win. Manning passed for 396 yards, 4 TDs and 3 interceptions. The game marked the 22nd time Manning threw 4 TDs in a game, breaking a tie with Dan Marino for second-most all-time.

Week 12 vs. San Diego Chargers (L 36-14): Manning passed for 285 yards, 2 TDs, and 4 interceptions (two were returned for scores) in the largest margin of defeat at home in his NFL career. It was Manning's third career game with at least four interceptions (twice against San Diego). It was the fifth loss of the season for Indianapolis, ending the record streak of seven consecutive seasons with 12+ wins.

Week 13 vs. Dallas Cowboys (L 38-35 OT): For the second straight game, Manning finished with 2 TD passes and 4 interceptions (two returned for scores) as the Colts lost in overtime. The first interception return resulted in a 17-0 deficit in the first half. After taking a lead, the Colts trailed 35-28 late in the fourth quarter as Manning then engineered an 81-yard tying TD drive to force overtime. On their second possession in OT, Manning's third down pass was intercepted and returned to the Colts' 36 yard line. Dallas kicked the winning field goal six plays later. Manning threw for 365 yards.

Week 14 at Tennessee Titans (W 30-28): Manning bounced back on Thursday Night Football with an interception-free performance, passing for 319 yards and 2 TDs. He went over 4000 yards passing for the 11th time in a season, and tied Dan Marino with his 63rd regular season game with 300+ yards passing. Manning was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for this game.

Week 15 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars (W 34-24): Manning passed for 229 yards and 2 TDs as the Colts prevented Jacksonville from claiming the AFC South with a victory.

Week 16 vs. Oakland Raiders (W 31-26): Manning passed for 179 yards and 3 TDs, and had a 27 yard rush on third-and-two in the fourth quarter to clinch a third straight win for the Colts.

Week 17 vs. Tennessee Titans (W 23-20): Manning led the 46th game-winning drive of his career as the Colts won the AFC South for the seventh time in eight years, and Manning became the first QB in NFL history to lead his team to nine consecutive postseason berths (2002–2010). It was the 208th consecutive regular season start of his career, breaking Gene Upshaw's record. For the season, Manning finished with a NFL record 450 completions on 679 attempts (2nd most in history), and a career-high 4700 yards passing.

AFC Wild Card vs. New York Jets (L 17-16): With 2:36 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Colts trailing 14-13, Manning led a 48-yard drive that ended in a 50 yard FG by Adam Vinatieri, putting the Colts ahead 16-14 with 0:53 remaining. The Jets won the game on a FG as time expired, ending the season for Manning and the Colts. Manning completed 18 of 26 passes for 225 yards and a TD.

On February 15, 2011, the Colts placed their franchise tag on Manning.

On July 30, 2011, the Colts signed Manning to a 5 year, $90 million contract after negotiations in which he made it clear that he did not want to be the highest-paid player in the NFL

Personal life

Manning was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He married his wife Ashley in Memphis on St. Patrick's Day in 2001. Ashley was introduced to him by her parents' next-door neighbor the summer before Manning's freshman year in college. Peyton and wife Ashley have two kids, twins (boy and girl), Marshall Williams and Mosley Thompson.

During the summer, Archie, Peyton, Eli, and Cooper run the Manning Passing Academy, a five day camp which aims to improve the offensive skills of quarterbacks, wide receivers, tight ends, and running backs. In addition to the Mannings, the camp has included many prominent players from football as coaches, such as Colts wide receivers Marvin Harrison and Reggie Wayne.

Peyton, along with Archie, authored a book entitled ''Manning: A Father, His Sons, and a Football Legacy'', which was released in 2000. The book covers Archie's and Cooper's lives and careers, and Peyton's life and career up to the time that the book was released, and examines football from both Archie's and Peyton's points-of-view.

In 2009, Peyton, Eli, and Archie co-authored a children's book entitled ''Family Huddle,'' which describes in simple text and pictures how the three Manning brothers played football as young boys (Scholastic Press; illustrations by Jim Madsen).

Manning has donated over $8,000 to Republican politicians, among them Fred Thompson, Bob Corker, and former President George W. Bush.

Manning in popular culture

Manning has become the NFL's most marketable player, appearing in several television and printed advertisements for some of the NFL's biggest sponsors. Manning is recognized as a pitchman for the following companies: Sprint, Sony, MasterCard, Gatorade, DirecTV, H.H. Gregg, and the American Red Cross. Manning also was the spokesman for Xbox's NFL Fever games, and was featured on the covers of the games.

Manning made an appearance on Saturday Night Live's sports extra in 2008 in which he was in a children's football scene, and a high school basketball scene. An ESPN ''This is SportsCenter'' ad from 2006 features the entire Manning family; parents Archie and Olivia, with their sons Peyton, Eli and Cooper, touring the SportCenter studios with Peyton and Eli engaging in horseplay behind everybody.

He was also featured in one of a series of DirecTV commercials where celebrities are seen in their element, then suddenly begin addressing the viewer. In his commercial they parodied his pre-snap audible routine and known delay in calling for the ball by having him pitch NFL Sunday Ticket instead of changing the play during a blowout game against the Tennessee Titans. Manning also appears in advertisements for St. Mary's Medical Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Manning also hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' with musical guest Carrie Underwood on March 24, 2007, his 31st birthday. The episode earned the show's highest household rating in more than 10 months in the metered markets. During his opening, he alluded to his most-marketable status by joking that he had accomplished two of his life goals: his team, the Colts, winning a Super Bowl and his appearance on over half of America's television commercials. He has also won the Favorite Male Athlete award for the Kids Choice Awards. On May 27, 2007 Manning waved the green flag to begin the 91st Indianapolis 500.

In 2009, Manning guest-voiced (with his brothers, Eli and Cooper) on an episode of ''The Simpsons'' called "O Brother, Where Bart Thou?" in which Bart dreams of having a baby brother and sees such famous brothers as The Marx Brothers, The Blues Brothers, The Wright Brothers, The Mario Brothers, and The Manning Brothers.

Charitable works

Shortly after beginning his NFL career, Manning started his own charity, the Peyback Foundation. The Peyback Foundation's mission is to help disadvantaged kids, and focuses its efforts in Louisiana, Tennessee, and Indiana.

Manning, along with his brother Eli, volunteered their assistance in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Among the tasks performed, the Mannings assisted in the delivery of 30,000 pounds of water, Gatorade, baby formula, diapers, and pillows to the people of New Orleans.

On September, 2007, St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis renamed its children's hospital to "Peyton Manning Children's Hospital at St. Vincent." Manning and his wife made a donation of an undisclosed amount to St. Vincent's and have had a relationship with the hospital since his arrival in Indianapolis.

The Manning Bowl

The Manning brothers Peyton and Eli have played against each other a few times in their professional careers. These encounters have been colloquially named "The Manning Bowl". The first Manning Bowl was held in 2006 and Peyton's Colts defeated Eli's Giants by a score of 26-21 . The second Manning Bowl was held in Week 2 of the 2010 season and Peyton and his team bested Eli's team again by a score of 38-14.

Career awards and records

Major high school awards

1992, 1993 Louisiana Class 2A MVP 1993 Gatorade Circle of Champions Award 1993 Atlanta TD Club's Bobby Dodd Award 1993 New Orleans Quarterback Club Player of the Year 1993 Columbus, Ohio Touchdown Club Offensive Player of the Year 1993 Gatorade High School Player of the Year (National)

College awards

1994 SEC Freshman of the Year 1995 First-Team All-SEC 1995 SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Arkansas) 1995 NCAA Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Arkansas) 1996 Second-Team All-SEC 1996 Third-Team All-American 1996 SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. South Carolina) 1996 SEC Offensive Player of the Week (vs. Georgia) 1997 Davey O'Brien Award 1997 Johnny Unitas Award 1997 NCAA QB of the Year 1997 Maxwell Award 1997 James E. Sullivan Award 1997 Today's Top VIII Award 1997 SEC Championship MVP

1997 Citrus Bowl MVP

1997 First-Team All-American 1997 SEC Player of the Year 1997 First-Team All-SEC 1997 SEC Player of the Week (vs. Southern Miss) 1998 Best College Player ESPY Award

NFL awards

NFL MVP (2003 (shared with Steve McNair), 2004, 2008, 2009) Best NFL Player ESPY Award(2004, 2005) 11× Pro Bowl Selection (1999–2000, 2002–2010) 5× First-team All-Pro (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009) 3× Second-team All-Pro (1999, 2000, 2006) 2× Bert Bell Award (2003, 2004)

6× AFC Offensive Player of the Year Awards (1999, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009)

1998 NFL All-Rookie First Team 2004 AFC Offensive Player of the Year 2004 Fedex Express Player of the Year 2005 Best Record-Breaking Performance ESPY Award 2005 Walter Payton Man of the Year Award 2005 Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award 2005 Pro Bowl MVP 2007 Super Bowl MVP 2007 Best Championship Performance ESPY Award Additionally, Manning has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Month four times (9/2003, 11/2004, 10/2006, 9/2009) and Offensive Player of the Week on 21 occasions (20 AFC, 1 NFL/playoff).

College records

Tennessee Volunteers records

Most passing attempts (career): 1,381 Most passing attempts (season): 477 (1997) Most passing attempts (game): 65 (09/21/96 vs. Florida) Most completions (career): 863 Most completions (game): 37 (09/21/96 vs. Florida) Most consecutive completions (game): 12 (11/22/97 vs. Kentucky) Highest completion percentage (career): 62.49% Highest completion percentage (season): 64.2% (1995) Lowest interception percentage (career): 2.39% Lowest interception percentage (season): 1.05% (1995) Most consecutive passes without an interception (season): 132 Most passing yards (season): 3,819 (1997) Most passing yards (career): 11,201 Most passing yards (game): 508 (11/22/97 vs. Kentucky) Most offensive yards (career): 11,020 Most 500+ passing yard games (career): 1 Most 400+ passing yard games (career): 3 Most 300+ passing yard games (career): 18 Most 300+ passing yard games (season): 9 (1997) Most consecutive 300+ passing yard games: 7 Most 200+ passing yard games (career): 30 Most wins as starting quarterback (career): 39 Most touchdown passes (career): 89 Most touchdown passes (game): 5 (08/30/97 vs. Texas Tech, 11/22/97 vs. Kentucky) Most touchdowns (career): 101 Most offensive plays (career): 1,534 Most offensive plays (season): 538 (1997) Most offensive plays (game): 70 (09/21/96 vs. Florida)

SEC records

Lowest interception percentage (season): 1.05% (1995) Highest completion percentage (career): 62.49% Lowest interception percentage (career): 2.39% Most 300+ passing yard games (career): 18

NFL records

Manning holds a number of individual career records:

Regular season

Highest passer rating, season: 121.1 (2004) Most seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards: 11 (1999–2004, 2006–2010) Most consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards: 6 (1999–2004) Most pass completions in a season: 450 (2010) Most games with 40+ pass attempts in a season: 10 (2010) Most games with 30+ pass completions in a season: 6 (2010; tied with Kurt Warner and Rich Gannon) Most consecutive seasons with at least 20 touchdown passes: 13 (1998–2010; current) Most consecutive seasons with at least 25 touchdown passes: 13 (1998–2010; current) Most games with a perfect passer rating, career: 4 (includes 1 playoff game) Most consecutive games started to open a career: 208 (current) Most consecutive games started to open a career by a quarterback: 208 (current) Most consecutive games with at least 2 touchdown passes: 13 (games 1–13, 2004) Most consecutive games with at least 4 touchdown passes: 5 (games 7–11, 2004) Most games with at least 4 touchdown passes, season: 6 (2004; tied with 1984 Marino) Most games with at least 4 touchdown passes, career: 24 (includes 2 playoff games; tied with Brett Favre) Most games with at least 5 touchdown passes, career: 7 (includes 1 playoff game)

Most games with at least 5 touchdown passes and no interceptions, career: 4 (tied with Tom Brady)

One of only seven QBs with at least 6 touchdown passes in two games (tied with Sammy Baugh, Y.A. Tittle, Daryle Lamonica, Tom Brady, Charley Johnson and George Blanda)

One of only two QBs with at least 6 touchdown passes and no interceptions in two games (tied with Tom Brady)

Most regular games with at least 300 passing yards: 63 (tied with Dan Marino)

Most regular and postseason games with at least 300 passing yards: 71

Most games with at least 400 yards passing and no interceptions: 4

Most career touchdown passes in Thursday games: 25

Most touchdown passes on a Thursday game: 6 (tied with Bob Griese)

Largest career TD-INT differential: 201

Highest career passing TDs/game average (min. 150 TD passes): 1.91 TDs/game Highest career passing yards/game average: 263.6 Second-Highest career completions/game average (min. 100 games played): 22.5 Most consecutive games with a passer rating over 100: 9 (games 5–13 of 2004 season; record tied by Carson Palmer, 2004–05 and Tom Brady, 2006–07) Highest completion percentage by a QB in one month in NFL history (min. 75 attempts): 81.8% (December 2008) Most career games with a completion percentage of 70% or higher (min. 10 attempts): 66

Most consecutive regular season wins as a starter: 23 (2008–2009)

Most seasons with 10+ wins as a starter (regular season only): 11 (1999–2000, 2002–2010)

Most seasons with 12+ wins as a starter (regular season only): 8 (1999, 2003–2009)

Only QB with at least 12 wins as a starter in 7 consecutive seasons (2003–2009) Only QB with nine straight seasons of 10+ wins as a starter (2002–2010) Only QB to lead five consecutive 4th quarter comeback wins (games 7–11, 2009) Most fourth quarter comeback wins in one season: 7 (2009) First QB to defeat the other 31 teams in the regular season (Tom Brady did this later the same day, and Brett Favre did it the following week) Most wins as a starting QB in a decade, regular season only: 115 (2000s)

Most wins as a starting QB in a decade, regular & postseason: 124 (2000s)

Most AP NFL MVP Awards: 4 (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009)

Most Touchdown Passes in a decade: 314 (2000–2009)

Most Passing Yards in a decade: 42,254 (2000–2009)

Most Completions in a decade: 3,575 (2000–2009)

Playoff records

Most 300+ yard passing games: 8 Most 400+ yard passing games: 2 (tied with Dan Marino) Most yards passing, 1st half of game: 360 vs. Denver Broncos, 1/9/05 Led the biggest comeback in conference championship game history (18 pts), 1/21/07 vs. New England One of only four QBs to post a perfect 158.3 passer rating in a game (Don Meredith, Terry Bradshaw, Dave Krieg) Most games with 20+ completions: 14 Most games with 30+ completions: 4 Most games with 30+ attempts: 17 Most games with 40+ attempts: 8 Most completions and attempts in a single postseason: 97/153 (2006) One of only 2 quarterbacks to complete 80% of his passes in two playoff games (tied with Kurt Warner)

Most consecutive postseasons with at least one start: 9 (2002–2010)

Rookie records

Most passing attempts: 575 (surpassed by Sam Bradford in 2010) Most completions: 326 (surpassed by Sam Bradford in 2010) Most passing yards: 3,739 Most touchdown passes: 26 Most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (games 4–16): 13 Most games with at least one touchdown pass: 15 Most games with 300+ yards passing: 4

With Marvin Harrison

Manning and former Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison hold a number of QB-WR tandem records: Most completions/receptions (career): 953 Most passing/receiving yards (career): 12,756 Most passing/receiving touchdowns (career): 112

Most completions/receptions in a season, QB-to-WR duo: 143 (2002)

Most passing/receiving yards in a season, QB-to-WR duo: 1,722 (2002)

Pro Bowl records

Most Pro Bowl selections for a QB: 11 (tied with Brett Favre)

Most consecutive Pro Bowl selections for a QB: 9 (following the 2002-2010 seasons)

Most passing attempts (career): 150 Most passing attempts (game): 41 (2004) Most completions (career): 92 Most completions (game): 22 (2004) Most passing yards (career): 1,278 Most passing yards (game): 342 (2004) Most passing touchdowns (career): 13

Colts franchise records

Most passing attempts (career): 7,210 Most passing attempts (season): 679 (2010) Most passing attempts (rookie season): 575 (1998) Most 40+ passing attempt games (career): 56 Most completions (career): 4,682 Most completions (season): 450 (2010) Most completions (rookie season): 326 (1998) Most completions (game): 40 (09/12/10 at Houston) Most completions (rookie game): 30 (11/01/98 vs. New England) Most consecutive completions: 23 (12/14/08-12/18/08 vs. Detroit/Jacksonville) Most games with 20+ completions (career): 140 Most consecutive games with 20+ completions: 14 (games 1–14, 2010) Most games with 30+ completions (career): 23 Highest completion percentage (career): 64.9% Highest completion percentage (season): 68.8% (2009) Highest completion percentage (rookie season): 56.7% Highest completion percentage (game): 87.5% (14/16 for 95 yards, 12/30/07 vs. Tennessee) Most passing yards (career): 54,828 Most passing yards (season): 4,700 (2010) Most passing yards (rookie season): 3,739 Most passing yards (game): 472 (10/31/04 vs. Kansas City) Most 300+ passing yard games (career): 63 Most 300+ passing yard games (season): 9 (2009) Most 300+ passing yard games (rookie season): 4 Most consecutive passing 300+ yard games: 5 (games 1–5 in 2009) Most seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards : 11 (1999–2004, 2006–2010) Most consecutive seasons with at least 4,000 passing yards (1999–2004): 6 Most touchdown passes (career): 399 Most touchdown passes (season): 49 (2004) Most touchdown passes (rookie season): 26 Most touchdown passes (game): 6 (09/28/03 vs. New Orleans and 11/25/04 vs. Detroit) Most touchdown passes (rookie game): 3 (4 times; tied with Johnny Unitas and Jeff George) Most games with at least 4 touchdown passes (career): 22 Most games with at least 4 touchdown passes (season, 2004): 6 Most games with at least 3 touchdown passes (career): 64 Most games with at least 1 touchdown pass (season): 15 (5 times) Most games with at least 1 touchdown pass (rookie season): 15 (1998) Most consecutive games with at least 4 touchdown passes (games 7–11, 2004): 5 (2004) Most consecutive games with at least 3 touchdown passes : 8 (games 5–12, 2004) Most consecutive games with at least 2 touchdown passes: 13 (games 1–13, 2004) Most consecutive games with at least 1 touchdown pass (rookie season): 13 (games 4–16) Most consecutive seasons with at least 25 touchdown passes : 13 (1998–2010, current) Highest touchdown percentage (career): 5.66% Highest touchdown percentage (season): 9.86% (2004) Highest touchdown percentage (game): 24.00% (09/28/03 vs. New Orleans) Most interceptions thrown (game): 6 (11/11/07 vs. San Diego) Most interceptions thrown (season): 28 (1998) Highest passer rating (career): 94.9 Highest passer rating (season): 121.1 (2004) Most games with a perfect passer rating (career): 4 (includes 1 playoff game) Most consecutive games started to open a career by a quarterback: 208 (current)

Most games played, franchise history: 208

Most consecutive games started, franchise history: 208 (current) Most comeback wins in the 4th quarter (career): 35 (includes one playoff game) Most comeback wins in the 4th quarter (season): 7 (2009) Most game-winning drives in the 4th quarter/overtime (career): 46 (includes one playoff game) Most game-winning drives in the 4th quarter/overtime (season): 7 (1999, 2008, 2009)

NFL career statistics

All statistics from ''Pro Football Reference'', ''CBS Sportsline'', and ''ESPN''

Regular season

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan=2 | Year !! rowspan=2 | Team !! rowspan=2 | Games !! rowspan=2 | Starts !! rowspan=2 |Wins !! colspan=7 | Passing !! colspan=4 | Rushing !! rowspan=2 | Rating |- ! Comp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! YPA !! TD !! Int !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD |- |1998 || IND || 16 || 16 || 3 || 326 || 575 || 56.7 || 3,739 || 6.5 || 26 || 28 || 15 || 62 || 4.1 || 0 || 71.2 |- |1999 || IND || 16 || 16 || 13 || 331 || 533 || 62.1 || 4,135 || 7.8 || 26 || 15 || 35 || 73 || 2.1 || 2 || 90.7 |- |2000 || IND || 16 || 16 || 10 || 357 || 571 || 62.5 || 4,413 || 7.7 || 33 || 15 || 37 || 116 || 3.1 || 1 || 94.7 |- |2001 || IND || 16 || 16 || 6 || 343 || 547 || 62.7 || 4,131 || 7.6 || 26 || 23 || 35 || 157 || 4.5 || 4 || 84.1 |- |2002 || IND || 16 || 16 || 10 || 392 || 591 || 66.3 || 4,200 || 7.1 || 27 || 19 || 38 || 148 || 3.9 || 2 || 88.8 |- |2003 || IND || 16 || 16 || 12 || 379 || 566 || 67.0 || 4,267 || 7.5 || 29 || 10 || 28 || 26 || 0.9 || 0 || 99.0 |- |2004 || IND || 16 || 16 || 12 || 336 || 497 || 67.7 || 4,557 || 9.2 || 49 || 10 || 25 || 38 || 1.5 || 0 || 121.1 |- |2005 || IND || 16 || 16 || 14 || 305 || 453 || 67.3 || 3,747 || 8.3 || 28 || 10 || 33 || 45 || 1.4 || 0 || 104.1 |- |2006 || IND || 16 || 16 || 12 || 362 || 557 || 65.0 || 4,397 || 7.9 || 31 || 9 || 23 || 36 || 1.6 || 4 || 101.0 |- |2007 || IND || 16 || 16 || 13 || 337 || 515 || 65.4 || 4,040 || 7.8 || 31 || 14 || 20 || −5 || −0.3 || 3 || 98.0 |- |2008 || IND || 16 || 16 || 12 || 371 || 555 || 66.8 || 4,002 || 7.2 || 27 || 12 || 20 || 21 || 1.1 || 1 || 95.0 |- |2009 || IND || 16 || 16 || 14 || 393 || 571 || 68.8 || 4,500 || 7.9 || 33 || 16 || 19 || −13 || −0.7 || 0 || 99.9 |- |2010 || IND || 16 || 16 || 10 || 450 || 679 || 66.3 || 4,700 || 7.0 || 33 || 17 || 18 || 18 || 1.0 || 0 || 91.9 |- style="background:#eee;" | colspan=2 | Career || 208 || 208 || 141 || 4,682 || 7,210 || 64.9 || 54,828 || 7.6 || 399 || 198 || 346 || 722 || 2.1 || 17 || 94.9 |} : League Leader NFL Record

Post-season

:{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! rowspan=2 | Year !! rowspan=2 | Team !! rowspan=2 | Games !! rowspan=2 | Wins !! colspan=7 | Passing !! colspan=4 | Rushing !! rowspan=2 | Passer Rating |- ! Comp !! Att !! Pct !! Yds !! YPA !! TD !! Int !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! TD |- |1999 || IND || 1 || 0 || 19 || 42 || 45.2 || 227 || 5.4 || 0 || 0 || 2 || 22 || 11 || 1 || 62.3 |- |2000 || IND || 1 || 0 || 17 || 32 || 53.1 || 194 || 6.1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −2 || −2 || 0 || 82.0 |- |2002 || IND || 1 || 0 || 14 || 31 || 45.2 || 137 || 4.4 || 0 || 2 || 1 || 2 || 2 || 0 || 31.2 |- |2003 || IND || 3 || 2 || 67 || 103 || 65.0 || 918 || 8.9 || 9 || 4 || 4 || 3 || 0.8 || 0 || 106.4 |- |2004 || IND || 2 || 1 || 54 || 75 || 72.0 || 696 || 9.3 || 4 || 2 || 2 || 7 || 3.5 || 1 || 107.4 |- |2005 || IND || 1 || 0 || 22 || 38 || 57.9 || 290 || 7.6 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 90.9 |- |2006 || IND || 4 || 4 || 97 || 153 || 63.4 || 1,034 || 6.8 || 3 || 7 || 8 || 3 || 0.4 || 1 || 70.5 |- |2007 || IND || 1 || 0 || 33 || 48 || 68.7 || 402 || 8.4 || 3 || 2 || 1 || −6 || −6 || 0 || 97.7 |- |2008 || IND || 1 || 0 || 25 || 42 || 59.5 || 310 || 7.4 || 1 || 0 || 1 || −1 || −1 || 0 || 90.4 |- |2009 || IND || 3 || 2 || 87 || 128 || 68.0 || 956 || 7.5 || 6 || 2 || 3 || -2 || −0.6 || 0 || 99.0 |- |2010 || IND || 1 || 0 || 18 || 26 || 69.2 || 225 || 8.7 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0.0 || 0 || 108.7 |- style="background:#eee;" | colspan=2 | Career || 19 || 9 || 718 || 453 || 63.1 || 5,389 || 7.5 || 29 || 19 || 23 || 26 || 1.1 || 3 || 88.4 |}

Position on passing statistics leaderboards

Manning is currently on pace to break the career records in many major statistical categories for a quarterback, including most career passing touchdowns, most career completions, and most career passing yards. Manning is currently ranked in the top five in all of these categories: Touchdown Passes: 399 (3rd) Passes Completed: 4,682 (3rd) Passing Yards: 54,828 (3rd) Completion Percentage: 64.9% (4th)

(Updated January 3, 2011)

See also

List of NFL first overall draft choices

List of NFL passing completions leaders

List of NFL passing touchdowns leaders

List of NFL passing yardage leaders

List of NFL consecutive starts by a quarterback

List of NFL players with at least 200 consecutive starts

List of NFL starting quarterback wins

List of NFL starting quarterback playoff records

List of 300-yard passing games by NFL quarterbacks

List of NFL quarterbacks who have passed for 400 or more yards in a game

List of NFL quarterbacks who have posted a perfect passer rating

List of quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowl starts

List of gridiron football quarterbacks with the most passing yards

References

External links

Official Website

Indianapolis Colts bio

}}

Category:1976 births Category:All-American college football players Category:American Conference Pro Bowl players Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Indianapolis Colts players Category:Isidore Newman alumni Category:James E. Sullivan Award recipients Category:Living people Category:National Football League first overall draft picks Category:Parade High School All-Americans (football) Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Players of American football from Louisiana Category:Super Bowl MVPs Category:Tennessee Volunteers football players

da:Peyton Manning de:Peyton Manning es:Peyton Manning fr:Peyton Manning hi:पेयटन मैनिंग it:Peyton Manning he:פייטון מאנינג lv:Peitons Menings hu:Peyton Manning mr:पेटन मॅनिंग nl:Peyton Manning ja:ペイトン・マニング no:Peyton Manning pl:Peyton Manning pt:Peyton Manning ru:Мэннинг, Пейтон simple:Peyton Manning sk:Peyton Manning fi:Peyton Manning sv:Peyton Manning th:เพย์ตัน แมนนิง zh:培頓·曼寧

Name	LaMichael James
School	Oregon Ducks
Currentnumber	21
Currentposition	Running back
Class	15px|Redshirt Junior
Major	Psychology
Birth date	October 22, 1989
Birth place	Texarkana, Texas
Heightft	5
Heightin	8
Weight	195
Highschool	Liberty-Eylau High School
Pastschools	Oregon (2008-present)
Highlights	2010 Doak Walker Award 2010 All-American (Unanimous) 2010 First-team All-Pac 10 2009 Second-team All-Pac 10 2009 ''Associated Press'' third-team All-America 2009 ''Football Writers Association of America'' Freshman All-America 2010 NCAA Rushing Leader (1,731 yards)
Espn	379314
Rivals	}}

LaMichael Keondrae James (born October 22, 1989) is a college football running back for the Oregon Ducks football team. The 2010 season was a breakout one for James, as he rushed for 1,682 yards during the regular season, the highest in the nation. He finished third in balloting for the Heisman Trophy and received the Doak Walker Award.

College career

After the suspension of LeGarrette Blount, James became the leading running back for the Ducks in 2009. He helped the Ducks to upset victories over Utah and Cal with 152 and 118 rushing yards, respectively. He again rushed for over 100 yards on October 10 against the UCLA Bruins with 152 yards on 20 carries.

Once again, James eclipsed the 100 yard mark with 154 yards rushing on 15 carries against the Washington Huskies on October 24, and on October 31 with 183 yards to upset then #5 USC. He led all BCS-conference running backs with 6.9 yards per carry.

On December 7, 2009, James was named Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year.

On March 12, 2010, head coach Chip Kelly announced that James would be suspended for the season opening game of the 2010 season, following his guilty plea for physical harassment against his former girlfriend.

Against Portland State James rushed for 227 yards on 14 carries and scored two touchdowns in a 69-0 shutout win, the Ducks' second shutout on the year. The next week against Arizona State James was held to only 94 rushing yards, but the total was enough to move James past the 2,000 yard mark for his career. Against Arizona James rushed for 126 yards, 2 touchdowns and surpassed LeGarrette Blount's single season scoring record. James had a season high against the Stanford Cardinal by garnering 3 touchdowns, and 257 yards on 31 rushes. Over the course of the season James had eclipsed the century mark 9 times, only failing to reach 100 yards twice. All in all James has had 18 100+ rushing yard games in his career, a record at the University of Oregon.

Despite missing the first game of the 2010 season, due to suspension, James managed to break the Pac-10 all-time sophomore single season rushing record, and led the country in both rushing yards (1,682) and touchdowns (22), ultimately earning a trip to the annual Heisman Ceremony in New York as a finalist. As a result of James' season success he received the 2010 Doak Walker award, given to best running back in the country, along with earning Consensus 1st team All-American, and Pac-10 All-Academic awards. The Oregon Ducks (12-0) finished regular season play (#2 BCS,#2 AP) undefeated and played the Auburn Tigers (13-0) in the 2011 BCS National Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona in which James had 2 Touchdown receptions, the second of which set up the game-tying 2-point conversion; however, James' season ended with Auburn kicking the game-winning field goal as time expired, the final score being 22-19.

Personal life

James was raised by his maternal grandmother in Texarkana, Texas. His father was killed prior to his birth and his mother was in and out of his life. His grandmother died of cervical cancer when he was a junior in high school, after which LaMichael chose to live by himself in their home for the remainder of his time at Liberty-Eylau High School.

Physical harassment

On February 17, 2010, James was arrested on charges of domestic violence. On March 12, 2010, James pleaded guilty to physical harassment, receiving 24 months probation. Following the guilty plea, it was announced that James would be suspended for the first game of the 2010 season. Given the publicity and resulting gossip surrounding the matter, a sentencing memorandum was released detailing the official events of the evening.

Awards and honors

2010 Doak Walker Award

2010 Heisman Trophy finalist (3rd)

2010 Premier Player of College Football Trophy finalist (3rd)

2010 AFCA All-American

2010 First Team AP All-American

2010 FWAA All-American 2010 WCFF All-American 2010 First Team All-Pac-10 2009 Pac-10 Offensive Freshman of the Year 2009 Sporting News Third Team All-American 2009 AP Third Team All-American 2009 Rivals.com Second Team All-American Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week, twice (Oct. 31, 2009, Oct. 4, 2010)

References

Dodd, Dennis. "Speedy James Has Slowly Repaired His Image." CSBSports.com (2010).

External links

ESPN.com profile

GoDucks.com profile

Category:1989 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bowie County, Texas Category:Players of American football from Texas Category:American football running backs Category:Oregon Ducks football players

name	Robert P. Griffin
nationality	American
image name	Robert Paul Griffin.jpg
jr/sr	United States Senator
state	Michigan
party	Republican
term start	May 11, 1966
term end	January 3, 1979
preceded	Patrick V. McNamara
succeeded	Carl Levin
state2	Michigan
district2	9th
term start2	January 3, 1957
term end2	May 10, 1966
preceded2	Ruth Thompson
succeeded2	Guy Vander Jagt
Order3	14th Minority Whip of the United States Senate
Term start3	September 7, 1969
Term end3	January 3, 1977
Leader4	Hugh D. Scott, Jr.
Predecessor4	Hugh D. Scott, Jr. (R)
Successor4	Ted Stevens (R)
birth date	November 06, 1923
birth place	Detroit, Michigan
alma mater	Central Michigan CollegeUniversity of Michigan Law School
religion	Congregationalist
Branch	United States Army
Serviceyears	1943-1946
Unit	71st Infantry Division
Battles	World War II }}

Robert Paul Griffin (born November 6, 1923) was a U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court.

Griffin was born in Detroit, Michigan and attended public schools in Garden City and Dearborn. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the 71st Infantry Division in 1943 and spent fourteen months in Europe. After the war, he graduated from Central Michigan College (now Central Michigan University) at Mount Pleasant in 1947. He received a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1950. He commenced the practice of law in Traverse City.

Griffin was elected as a Republican to U.S. House of Representatives from the Michigan's 9th congressional district in 1956, unseating incumbent Ruth Thompson in the Republican primary. He served in the Eighty-fifth United States Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1957, until his resignation May 10, 1966. He was appointed by Governor George Romney on May 11, 1966, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Patrick V. McNamara. He was elected November 8, 1966, to a full six-year term, defeating former Governor Soapy Williams by a 56% to 44% margin, commencing January 3, 1967 and was reelected in 1972, winning a tough race against state Attorney General Frank J. Kelley, and served from May 11, 1966, to January 2, 1979. He was Republican Whip 1969-1977. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1978, narrowly defeated by Democrat Carl Levin. He was a justice of the Michigan Supreme Court 1987-1994. His son, Richard Allen Griffin, was a judge on the Michigan Court of Appeals from 1989 to 2005, until he was appointed by President George W. Bush to the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 2005.

During Griffin's first Senate campaign in 1966, a suburban Detroit rock band, Doug Brown and the Omens, released a promotional flexidisc in support of his candidacy. The song, "Give Bob The Ball" (which extolled Griffin's "youth and experience") has been included on the garage rock compilation album ''Friday At The Hideout''.

Robert Griffin is currently () a resident of Traverse City.

Bibliography

Griffin, Robert P. "The Landrum-Griffin Act: Twelve Years of Experience in Protecting Employee Rights." ''Georgia Law Review'' 5 (summer 1971): 622-42

Griffin, Robert P. "Rules and Procedure of the Standing Committees." In ''We Propose: A Modern Congress'', edited by Mary McInnis, pp. 37–53. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1966.

External links

Presentation of the Portrait of the Honorable Robert P. Griffin

Category:1923 births Category:American Congregationalists Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Living people Category:Members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Category:Michigan Supreme Court justices Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:People from Mount Pleasant, Michigan Category:People from Traverse City, Michigan Category:United States Senators from Michigan Category:Fordson High School alumni Category:Central Michigan University alumni Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni Category:Appointed United States Senators Category:Republican Party United States Senators Category:Michigan Republicans

de:Robert P. Griffin fi:Robert P. Griffin sv:Robert P. Griffin

Name	Aaron Rodgers
Width	280px
Currentteam	Green Bay Packers
Currentnumber	12
Currentpositionplain	Quarterback
Birth date	December 02, 1983
Birth place	Chico, California
Heightft	6
Heightin	2
Weight	220
Debutyear	2005
Debutteam	Green Bay Packers
Highlights	Pro Bowl selection (2009) Super Bowl champion (XLV) Super Bowl MVP (XLV) FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year, 2010 Only player in NFL history to have 4,000 passing yards in each of his first two starting seasons 2004 First-team All-Pac-10
College	California
Draftyear	2005
Draftround	1
Draftpick	24
Pastteams	Green Bay Packers (–present)
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	Pass attempts
Statvalue1	1,611
Statlabel2	Pass completions
Statvalue2	1,038
Statlabel3	Percentage
Statvalue3	64.4
Statlabel4	TD–INT
Statvalue4	87–32
Statlabel5	Passing yards
Statvalue5	12,723
Statlabel6	QB Rating
Statvalue6	98.4
Nfl	ROD339293 }}

Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers was selected in the first round (24th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft by the Packers. Rodgers played college football while attending the University of California, Berkeley, where he set several California Golden Bears records, including lowest interception rate at 1.43%.

Professionally, Rodgers is the NFL's all-time career leader in passer rating during both the regular season (98.4), and in the post-season (112.6) – among passers with at least 1,500 and 150 pass attempts respectively. He also owns the league's lowest career pass interception percentage for quarterbacks during the regular season (1.99%).

Early years

Rodgers was born in Chico in Butte County, California. He attended Vose Elementary School and Whitford Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon, playing baseball in the Raleigh Hills Little League at the positions of shortstop, center field and pitcher. He returned to Chico in 1997 and attended Pleasant Valley High School, starting for two years at quarterback and garnering 4,421 passing yards. He set single-game records of 6 touchdowns and 440 all-purpose yards. Rodgers also set a single-season record with 2,466 total yards in 2001 and graduated in the spring of 2002.

College career

2002

Despite his record-setting statistics, Rodgers, at 5'10" and 165 pounds as a senior, both undersized for Division I quarterbacks, garnered little interest from programs with only one offer, a walk-on from Illinois. He declined the invitation, and considered quitting football and studying to become a lawyer. He was then recruited to play football at a local junior college,Butte Community College in Oroville, about 15 miles (25 km) southeast of Chico. In his freshman season, he threw 28 touchdowns while leading Butte to a 10–1 record, a NorCal Conference championship, and a No. 2 national ranking. While there, Rodgers was discovered by the Bears head coach Jeff Tedford, who was recruiting Butte tight end Garrett Cross. Tedford was very suprised Rodgers had not been recruited highly. Because he had a 3.6 grade point average and SAT score of 1300 out of high school, Rodgers was eligible to transfer after one year of junior college instead of the typical two.

2003

As a junior college transfer, Rodgers had three years of eligibility at Cal. He was named the starting quarterback in the fifth game of the 2003 season, coincidentally against the only team that offered him a Division I opportunity out of high school, Illinois. As a sophomore, he helped lead the Golden Bears to a 7–3 record as a starter. Against the then-No. 3 ranked USC in his second career start, Rodgers led the team to a 21–7 halftime lead before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson. The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31. Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was named game MVP in the Insight Bowl against Virginia Tech. In 2003, Rodgers tied the school season record for 300-yard games with 5 and set a school record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.

2004

As a junior, Rodgers led Cal to a 10–1 record and top-five ranking at the end of the regular season, with their only loss coming in a closely contested and well-played game at #1 USC, 17–23. In that game, Rodgers set a school record for consecutive completed passes with 26 and tied an NCAA record with 23 consecutive passes completed in one game. Rodgers set a school single game record for passing completion, completing 85.3% of his passes in that game. Rodgers also holds the school career record for lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.95%. Despite these records, the Bears had 1st and goal with 1:47 remaining and could not score a winning touchdown. The game-ending sequence included three incomplete passes and a sack by USC.

After Texas was picked over Cal for a Rose Bowl berth, the fourth-ranked Bears earned a spot in the Holiday Bowl, but lost to Texas Tech, 45–31. After the season, Rodgers decided to forego his senior season (without a redshirt) to enter the 2005 NFL Draft.

College career statistics

! style="width:4%;" 215 California Golden Bears football 424

colSpan="2"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td
2003	California Golden Bears football>Cal	|	349	61.6	2903	8.3	19	5	146.58	86	210	2.4	5
2004	Cal ||	209	316	66.1	2566	8.1	24	8	154.35	74	126	1.7	3
colspan=2>Totals	|	665	63.8	5469	8.2	43	13	150.27	160	336	2.10	8

College awards and honors

2003 Honorable mention All-Pac-10

2003 Insight Bowl Offensive MVP

2004 Cal Co-Offensive MVP 2004 First-team All-Pac-10 2004 Second-team Academic All-Pac-10 2004 Honorable mention All-American by ''Sports Illustrated''

Professional career

Green Bay Packers

Backup seasons (2005–2007)

Rodgers was expected to be selected early in the 2005 NFL Draft as he had posted impressive numbers as a junior with Cal, throwing for 2,320 yards with a 67.5 completion rating. He had tied an NCAA record when he completed 23 consecutive passes against the eventual national champions, USC. He threw for 24 touchdowns and only 8 interceptions in his last college season, impressing many NFL scouts. Rodgers' slip to the 24th choice became one of the biggest stories of the draft, though he was still the second quarterback selected. The San Francisco 49ers, who held the first overall pick, were not interested in Rodgers as then-49ers head coach Mike Nolan, a strong personality, did not believe that Rodgers' attitude could co-exist with him. The 49ers would select quarterback Alex Smith. In addition to the fact that many teams drafting between second and 23rd positions had positional needs more pressing than quarterback, Rodgers' moderate height (6'2") may have contributed to his precipitous slide. Rodgers is one of six quarterbacks coached by Jeff Tedford to be drafted in the first round, joining Akili Smith, Trent Dilfer, Joey Harrington, and Kyle Boller.

In August 2005 at age 21, Rodgers agreed to a reported five-year, $7.7 million deal that included $5.4 million in guaranteed money and had the potential to pay him as much as $24.5 million if all incentives and escalators were met.

Rodgers spent a disappointing 4–12 2005 season as the Packers' back-up quarterback behind Brett Favre. Rodgers had little playing time during the year, but played in a win against the New Orleans Saints and in a loss to the Baltimore Ravens.

When Favre decided to continue his career into the 2006 season, Rodgers was forced to continue in his role as the second quarterback on the depth chart.

On November 19, 2006, Rodgers broke his left foot against the New England Patriots in a 35–0 defeat at home while filling in for an injured Brett Favre and missed the remainder of the 2006 season. Rodgers made a full recovery and was ready for the start of the 2007 season.

Weeks after an emotional interview with NBC's Andrea Kramer following the team's season-ending victory at Chicago, Favre announced he would stay with the Packers for the 2007 season, again postponing Rodgers' hopes of becoming the Green Bay Packers' starting quarterback. Prior to the 2007 season, rumors surfaced about a potential trade involving Rodgers in which he would be traded to the Oakland Raiders for wide receiver Randy Moss. However, Moss was traded to the New England Patriots during the second day of the 2007 NFL Draft, and Rodgers stayed in Green Bay.

Rodgers stepped in when Favre was injured in the second quarter against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday Night Football on November 29, 2007. Rodgers completed 18 passes for 201 yards, with no interceptions. He also threw his first touchdown pass but was sacked three times. Rodgers brought the team back from a 17 point deficit to a 3 point deficit, but the Cowboys went on to win 37–27.

Starting seasons

2008

Brett Favre's retirement announcement on March 4, 2008, opened up the Packers' starting quarterback position to Rodgers for the 2008 season. Although Favre decided to return from retirement, he was traded to the New York Jets, meaning Rodgers would remain the starter.

With Rodgers making his debut as a starter, the Packers beat the Minnesota Vikings 24–19 at Lambeau Field. This marked the first time since 1992 that a quarterback other than Favre started a regular season game for the Packers. Rodgers ended the game with 178 yards passing and 2 touchdowns (1 passing/1 rushing). In just his second NFL start the following week, Rodgers was voted the FedEx Air award winner after passing for 328 yards and three touchdowns in a win against the Detroit Lions. During the fourth week of the season, Rodgers streak of 157 consecutive pass attempts without an interception ended when he was intercepted by Derrick Brooks of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The streak was the third longest in franchise history behind Bart Starr (294) and Brett Favre (163). Rodgers suffered a severe shoulder sprain in the game but continued to start and played well in a win against the Seattle Seahawks two weeks later, which to many proved his toughness. Despite early successes, Rodgers had been unable to win a close game during the season despite seven opportunities to do so. On October 31, 2008, Rodgers signed a six year, $65 million contract extension through the 2014 season.

2009

For the opening game of the 2009 season, Rodgers recorded his first win in a comeback situation. The Packers were trailing at the beginning of the 4th quarter when Rodgers completed a fifty yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Greg Jennings with about a minute remaining in the game to contribute to the 21–15 victory over the Chicago Bears. Rodgers was named National Football Conference (NFC) Offensive Player of the Month for October 2009, when he passed for 988 yards, completed 74.5 percent of his passes, and recorded a passer rating over 110 for all three games played during the month. After a mediocre 4–4 start to the season and a devastating loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team began to heat up. Rodgers led the Packers to five straight wins, in which he threw for a total of 1,324 yards, 9 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. Rodgers and the Packers won two of their last three games, finishing the second half of the season with a 7–1 record and an overall 11–5 record; good enough to secure a wild card playoff berth and clinch the fifth seed in the playoffs. Rodgers also made the record books, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history ever to throw for 4,000 yards in both of his first two years as a starter. His passing yardage made him second all-time in Packers history, behind only Lynn Dickey's all-time single-season record.

In his first action as a starter in the playoffs against the Arizona Cardinals, Rodgers's first pass was intercepted by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. Rodgers settled down after that miscue, however, and finished the game 28 of 42 for 422 yards with four touchdowns. Despite Rodger's offensive efforts, the Packers lost the game when he fumbled on the last play of the game in overtime. The ball was returned by Karlos Dansby for the winning touchdown in the 51–45 Cardinals victory. It was the highest scoring playoff game in NFL history.

Due to his regular season performance, Rodgers earned a trip to his first Pro Bowl as the NFC's third Quarterback behind Drew Brees and Brett Favre. However, after Favre dropped out due to injury and Brees was replaced due to his participation in Super Bowl XLIV, Rodgers became the NFC's starter for the game. He finished the day 15 of 19 passing with 197 yards and two touchdowns, despite the NFC losing the game.

2010

After leading his team to a 2–0 start in 2010, the Packers lost three of their next four games including back-to-back overtime losses. The two overtime defeats brought Rodgers' record in overtime games to 0–5. During Week 12 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers threw 35 passing attempts, putting him at 1,505 for his career – making him eligible for all official NFL quarterback records as recognized by the NFL. In Week 14 of the season, Rodgers sustained his second concussion of the season. Backup Matt Flynn was put into the game as Rodgers' replacement. The Packers lost the game 7–3 to the Detroit Lions. It was the Lions first division win since 2007, snapping a 19-game losing streak against division rivals. Rodgers missed the next week's regular season start ending his streak of consecutive starts at 45, which is tied for the second longest in team history. However, Rodgers turned around the team's performance, winning the final two regular season games against the New York Giants and Chicago Bears, both de-facto playoff elimination games.

With a 10–6 record, the Packers entered the NFL playoffs as the #6 seed Wild Card. During the playoffs, Rodgers led the Packers past the top three seeds in the NFC on the road in consecutive weeks. In the Wild Card round, they defeated the #3 seeded Philadelphia Eagles 21–16. In the divisional round, Rodgers completed 31 of 36 pass attempts for 366 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 48–21 victory over the #1 seeded Atlanta Falcons. On January 23, 2011, Rodgers struggled with a 55.4 passer rating as the Packers beat the #2 seed Chicago Bears 21–14 win to capture the NFC Championship. The Packers earned a trip to Super Bowl XLV, which they won, 31–25, against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 pass attempts for 304 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win and was named Super Bowl XLV MVP for his performance.

He was named the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Year for the 2010 season.

Touchdown celebration

Since becoming a starter, Rodgers has become known for his unique touchdown celebration which he and his teammates have dubbed "the Championship Belt". After a significant play (more specially, on any scoring plays) Rodgers celebrates by making a motion as if he is putting an invisible belt on around his waist. Teammate Greg Jennings said of the celebration: "It's just something fun that he does. We get excited when we see it cause we know that he's made a play or we've made a play as offense." The gesture drew the praise of World Wrestling Entertainment wrestler Triple H and has become common for Green Bay fans to mimic the celebration as a point of pride during games.

During the NFC Divisional Round of the playoffs on January 15, 2011 against the Atlanta Falcons, Rodgers was sacked by Falcons defensive end John Abraham who performed the celebration immediately following the play. It was Abraham's only sack of the night. Minutes later, Rodgers scored a rushing touchdown and did the celebration in the Falcons' endzone. The Packers went on to win the game 48–21.

After scoring a touchdown in the NFC Championship game, fellow Packer B. J. Raji celebrated using the "Championship Belt" celebration.

While holding the Lombardi Trophy after winning Super Bowl XLV, Rodgers' teammate Clay Matthews placed a replica of the WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt on Rodgers shoulder.

Professional statistics

;Regular season ! style="width:4%;" 3 GNB GNB GNB GNB GNB 54

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2005 Green Bay Packers season	2005	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	0	9	16	56.3	65	4.1	0	1	39.8	2	7	3.5	0	2	2
2006 Green Bay Packers season	2006	|	2	0	6	15	40.0	46	3.1	0	0	48.2	2	11	5.5	0	1	1
2007 Green Bay Packers season	2007	|	2	0	20	28	71.4	218	7.8	1	0	106.0	7	29	4.1	0	0
2008 Green Bay Packers season	2008	|	16	16	341	536	63.6	4,038	7.5	28	13	93.8	56	207	3.7	4	10	3
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	|	16	16	350	541	64.7	4,434	8.2	30	7	103.2	58	316	5.4	5	10	4
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	15	15	312	475	65.7	3,922	8.3	28	11	101.2	64	356	5.6	4	4	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	47	1,038	1,611	64.4	12,723	7.9	87	32	98.4	189	926	4.9	13	27	11

;Postseason

! style="width:4%;" 1 GNB 5

colSpan="4"	Passing !! colSpan="4"								Rushing !! colSpan="2"| Fumbles
Year !! style="width:4%;"|Team !! style="width:4%;"	S !! style="width:4%;"| Comp !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Pct !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| YPA !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Int !! style="width:4%;"| Rate !! style="width:4%;"| Att !! style="width:4%;"| Yds !! style="width:4%;"| Avg !! style="width:4%;"| Td !! style="width:4%;"| Fum !! style="width:4%;"| Lost
2009 Green Bay Packers season	2009	Green Bay Packers>GNB	|	1	28	42	66.7	423	10.1	4	1	121.4	3	13	4.3	1	1	1
2010 Green Bay Packers season	2010	|	4	4	90	132	68.2	1094	8.3	9	2	109.8	14	54	3.9	2	2	1
colspan=2>Totals	|	5	118	174	67.8	1,517	8.7	13	3	--	17	67	3.9	3	3	2

References

Further reading

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

California Golden Bears bio

Pro Football Reference.com

Category:American football quarterbacks Category:Green Bay Packers players Category:California Golden Bears football players Category:Players of American football from California Category:People from Chico, California Category:Super Bowl MVPs Category:1983 births Category:Living people

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