The Facts: Following up on a this week's big story. ... Manning announced his retirement after 18 seasons in the league at a news conference on Monday. "God bless all of you, and God bless football," Manning said making it official.

Diehards Line:Manning called key Broncos figures including VP John Elway and HC Gary Kubiak on Saturday night to tell them of his plans. ESPN's Chris Mortensen first reported Sunday that Manning would retire. Manning retires as one of the most accomplished quarterbacks in NFL history, a history he uniquely appreciates. In addition to his career yards and passing touchdowns records, Manning won a record five league MVPs. Manning's Super Bowl triumph gave him an NFL record 200 career wins (regular season and playoffs combined). Manning also became the first starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl with two different teams. Speculation about Manning's retirement continued to grow throughout the season, rising to another level after on-field cameras caught Manning telling Patriots coach Bill Belichick that "this might be my last rodeo" after the Broncos' AFC Championship win. In the end, the decision to leave the game with a Lombardi Trophy in his hand proved too great of an ending for Manning to pass up. "Along the way we talked about dreaming that it could end the way it ended," Kubiak said in a statement. "And I'll be damned it did."