Longtime Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen passed away Thursday at the age of 75 after having a protracted struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Super Bowl-winning quarterback Peyton Manning shared the Bowlen’s drive to acquire him to sign with Denver after his period in Indianapolis ended. Manning voiced his gratitude to the late owner in a statement issued Saturday.
“My deepest sympathies go out to the total Bowlen family,” Manning explained. “I met with Mr. Bowlen for the very first time once I played for the Indianapolis Colts and that I had been over in Hawaii in the Pro Bowl when he was also there at his eponymous home. I saw him several times throughout the years and had short, brief conversations with him that I really enjoyed.
“Coming to play for Denver, though his health was falling, I did enjoy a few discussions with Mr. Bowlen. I was here a lot in the offseason. As soon as I signed with the Broncos, I was basically living in the facility — analyzing movie, rehabbing and exercising. I was usually one of the last to depart the facility during this time. I say,’I believed I had been the last to leave,’ but Mr. Bowlen was there. He’d normally be in the practice area on the elliptical, and I would go in there and have conversations with him. He had been asking me when we found a place to live yet, and I remember once I told him we discovered a place to call home, he said he used to live right near there, and we talked a little about that. Just brief, brief conversations, and that I enjoyed that time .
“It was an honour to perform Mr. Bowlen’s organization, as I’ve said numerous times. I always had great respect for the Denver Broncos during my time playing for the Colts competing against his or her organization. So much of the credit goes to Pat Bowlen along with also his wish to be the best and to win. That had a lot to do with me enrolling up with the Denver Broncos — which I understood Mr. Bowlen was all about winning and I knew the people he had hired would carry on that tradition and heritage. It was a fantastic choice to come play — we still live here now. I’m thankful for Mr. Bowlen and the legacy that he’s established with the Broncos, in the NFL and surely within this Denver community. Many will miss him. It was an honour to know Mr. Bowlen and also a real joy to have played his group — the Denver Broncos.”
Bowlen will be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the 2019 class this August in Canton, Ohio.

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