When Peyton Manning hit free agency after the 2011 season, everyone wanted him. But when the dust settled, it was the Denver Broncos who won the sweepstakes. And Manning led the Broncos to the top, beating the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl 50. But all these years later, one question still lingered — why Denver?

Now, 13 years later, Manning finally decided to clear it up. During the Broncos’ Super Bowl 50 reunion, he gave fans in the Mile-High City a reason that hit right in the heart: late WR Demaryius Thomas.

“When all of y’all asked me, what’s the main reason you came to Denver? I’m not sure I gave you all the honest answers back in 2012, but Demaryius Thomas was a big reason for it,” he said. “Because I never played with a receiver quite like him, right? I played with Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne. But nobody was as big and as powerful as Demaryius was. And I always was kind of wondering what would that be like? And it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.”

From 2012 to 2015, the two were pure fireworks. Manning put up a passer rating of 101.7 with 17,112 yards, 140 touchdowns, and 53 interceptions in 58 games. Every drive seemed to end in a highlight reel moment, with No. 18 finding No. 88 in stride like clockwork.

And Thomas matched that brilliance step for step. He had 370 catches for 5,416 yards and scored 37 touchdowns in 58 games with Manning in his career. And now, with the recent celebration, Thomas is right beside his friend and teammate.

Demaryius Thomas joins Peyton Manning in the Ring of Fame

Back in 2021, Peyton Manning took his place among the legends in the Denver Broncos’ Ring of Fame. Now, Demaryius Thomas joins him. On Sunday, the team unveiled Thomas’s pillar at the Ring of Fame Plaza outside Empower Field. And fittingly, Tomas’s pillar was right beside Manning’s pillar.

The timing could not have been more special. The Broncos hosted their alumni weekend, which included a 10-year reunion of their Super Bowl 50-winning team, the one that Thomas helped lead to glory. Yet, amid all the celebration, there was also a heavy sense of loss. Thomas passed away in 2021 at just 33, after suffering a seizure.

“That smile took me through some very hard times,” said his mother, Katina Smith, who broke down in tears when her son’s pillar was unveiled before the Broncos’ game against the New York Giants.

During the celebration, Manning called Thomas “every bit as good a human being as he was a player.” And he believes that in his heart.

As the event continued, the crowd in the Mile-High City roared, celebrating a player who helped define an entire era of Broncos football.