Colts fans question Jim Irsay over Peyton Manning's place on list of all-time NFL players
Everybody has their "Mount Rushmore" or "top 10" athletes, musicians, etc. But when Jim Irsay discusses NFL players, he raises eyebrows.
When the Indianapolis Colts owner offered his best NFL players on Twitter, he listed the late Jim Brown first. But one player he left off his "top five" prompted double-takes: Peyton Manning.
Instead, Irsay included John Elway, a quarterback the Colts drafted in 1983. Elway refused to play for the Colts, and they traded him to the Denver Broncos, where he won two Super Bowls. Irsay's top five: Brown, Tom Brady, Elway, and pass-rushing menaces Deacon Jones and Reggie White.
Irsay followed up by tweeting that Manning was certainly in his top 10, but that Elway's accomplishments with lesser surrounding talent for much of his career gives him a boost.
On my list of Top 5 Greatest NFL Players of All Time,in our 103 year History… I have Top 5 as 1)Jim Brown 2)Tom Brady 3)John Elway 4)Deacon Jones 5)Reggie White.🏈
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) May 19, 2023
No doubt…Peyton,Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice in Top 10… it’s just that Elway didn’t have great offensive players around him til the end,when he won 2 in a row and his feet we’re remarkable,from baseball talents…🏈
— Jim Irsay (@JimIrsay) May 19, 2023
Colts fans gave Irsay's choices some interesting responses.
— Chris Ballard is My Daddy (@VeveJones007) May 19, 2023
— Jon Easter (@johnnystir) May 20, 2023
Jim come on bro pic.twitter.com/TS4fTnNAXs
— Rhodes (@sweetlou760) May 20, 2023
Oh no. pic.twitter.com/D1Lznd10XT
— Damon (@Bommit91) May 20, 2023
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Colts owner Jim Irsay leaves Peyton Manning off all-time NFL players