Reuters

Broncos General Manager John Elway says that building a championship roster in Denver became a simple task once Peyton Manning was in the fold.

At the Manning retirement press conference today, Elway said Denver instantly became a more desirable destination in free agency when Manning became a Bronco.

“You look at what we’ve done the last four years, and a lot of that is attributable to this guy. Because he made my job easy. When I’d say to free agents, ‘Mr. Bowlen wants to win a championship and you get to play with Peyton Manning,’ they’d say, ‘Where do I sign?'” Elway said. “We wouldn’t have gotten it done without you, Peyton.”

Elway said he didn’t think the Broncos would have a chance to sign Manning after the Colts cut him, Elway didn’t think he’d be able to get Manning to come to Denver.

“Four years ago, when the unimaginable happened, and that was Peyton Manning was going to be a free agent, at first, did I think we had a shot? I really didn’t think we had a shot, especially with where we were coming from,” Elway said.

But Manning did go to Denver, and four years later he’s leaving with another award and another Super Bowl ring.