Colts announce plans to erect a statue of Peyton Manning, retire his jersey No. 18

Peyton Manning may have just won a Super Bowl with the Denver Broncos, but the Indianapolis Colts are trying to make sure everyone remembers where the recently retired quarterback spent most of his career.

Manning joined Colts owner Jim Irsay for a news conference on Friday, during which Irsay announced the team would place a statue of the future Hall of Famer at Lucas Oil Stadium and retire his jersey number, No. 18.

“It will be a destination,” Irsay said of the statue. “Just like Jim Morrison’s grave.”

“I can’t tell you how honored and humbled I am by that … ,” Manning said of Irsay’s announcement. “It was my honor and privilege to play for this organization for 14 years.”

Manning earned four NFL most valuable player awards as a Colt and led the team to victory in Super Bowl XLI. But a neck injury that required four surgeries kept him off the field for all of the 2011 season, leading the Colts to part ways with Manning and draft quarterback Andrew Luck.

In his four seasons with the Broncos, Manning earned another league MVP award and ended his career by winning his second Super Bowl title. He announced his retirement in Denver earlier this month and returned to his first NFL home Friday.

“It was always strange watching 18 out there without the horseshoe on his helmet. Not always easy,” Irsay said. “We kind of feel like he is ours.”