Will Peyton Manning retire after the Super Bowl?

While the Denver Broncos' Peyton Manning is publicly staying mum on his retirement plans, his friends allegedly say that, privately, he's pretty open about the fact that he expects Sunday's Super Bowl game to be his last, NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reports. "The reality is he let the cat out of the bag a little bit," Rapoport said.

Manning himself has even confirmed that he told Patriots coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady on the field after Denver's win that this next game might be his "last rodeo."

"I understand this could be it and I wanted to tell both of them I really have enjoyed these games," Manning said in an interview Monday night. "Maybe I'll hit the fountain of youth sometime in the month and we'll play 10 more championships against each other."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

But for right now, Manning says all he's really concerned about is the present. "It would be one thing if you were asking me this and we were 4–11 with one game to go," Manning said. "But somehow, some way we are playing in the Super Bowl and I get to start at quarterback. I haven't gotten too reflective and too 'big picture.' I haven't made my mind up. I have just stayed in the moment. At some point after the season, I will have a comprehensive analysis. But I am at peace with it. I am a realist."

Manning, 39, will become the oldest quarterback to ever start a Super Bowl Sunday in the Denver Broncos' game against the Carolina Panthers. He turns 40 in March.