INDIANAPOLIS – The Colts honored their most recent Hall of Fame enshrinees Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James during Sunday’s game against the Rams.
Pro Football Hall of Fame president David Baker presented them with their official Hall of Fame rings during a halftime ceremony.
“It comes full circle. Now you have the ring,” James said. “A lot of times you see the guys and every time, you always see that big ring on their hand. Now, we’re officially one of the guys.”
James (class of 2020) and Manning (class of 2021) were enshrined in separate ceremonies last month in Canton, Ohio.
“The fact that it’s here in Indianapolis and that Edgerrin and I get to receive it together makes it really cool,” said Manning. “It was certainly special in August, but nothing quite like being in front of the stadium and the fans that you were drafted by and played here as rookies and for so long.”
The Ring of Excellence is one of three symbols, along with the gold jacket and bronzed bust, that represent a player’s membership into the Hall of Fame.
The rings are made of 14K gold with 1.75 carats of diamonds and feature the players’ bronzed bust, position and years in the NFL on one side and his name and Hall of Fame class year on the other side. Their enshrinee numbers (James is the 336th member of the hall and Manning is the 351st) are engraved on the inside.
Manning ranks in the top five of every major passing category in NFL history, while James is the franchise’s all-time leading rusher.
There were over 63,000 fans in attendance at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday to pay tribute to two of the team’s all-time greats.
“I appreciate my years here,” said James. “We always acknowledge the fans and we always make a point to say we appreciate the city and everything they’ve done.”
“There’s a lot of loyal fans here that have been here since the team came in ’84,” Manning said “Edgerrin never had to go through a 3-13 season. We weren’t very good until he got here. Once he got here, things picked up quickly.
“It was a fun run and a fun time to play. It was a great place to play and the fans were a part of it.”
Manning will also be honored at the Broncos’ game on October 31. He played in Denver from 2012-15. He and Tom Brady are the only quarterbacks to lead two teams to Super Bowl championships.
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