Colts part ways with Peyton Manning

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A teary-eyed Peyton Manning said farewell to the Indianapolis Colts today as he was released.

The announcement came in a press conference shortly past noon today.

Manning will be remembered, too, for his record four MVP awards, his 50,000 yards passing and his 200 consecutive starts. Most of all, Manning will be the guy in the horseshoe helmet who turned around a franchise and transformed a basketball-loving city into a football hotbed that hosted the Super Bowl.

Despite all of that, the Colts released the 35-year-old Manning rather than pay him a $28 million bonus.

The quarterback missed all of last season after a series of operations on his neck.

Manning said him and owner Jim Irsay would have a relationship that would last forever.