In a recent story in The Athletic, Nicki Jhabvala and Lindsay Jones outlined the thrilling 2012 free agency period of one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time: Peyton Manning.

One of the most notable tidbits found within the piece was the fact that Manning left Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll waiting in a plane for a meeting – which Manning never went to:

“Pete Carroll flew to Denver on the Seahawks’ plane and was at the Denver airport (before I left for Arizona) and he sent me a text,” Manning explained. “He said, ‘Hey, I’m out here, would love to come out here and visit.’ He was very nice and respectful, and I really tried to be nice and respectful in the same way. I called Pete and said, ‘Pete, I just don’t feel comfortable doing that. I’m going to honor my commitment to go out to Arizona.'”

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Manning was coming off of a lost season with the Indianapolis Colts after suffering a neck injury, but Manning had been a franchise icon ever since he was drafted No. 1 overall in the 1998 NFL Draft.

Of course, the legendary QB ended up signing with the Denver Broncos, where he won his fifth and final MVP award in the 2013 season and capped off a vaunted career with a Super Bowl win in 2016. That season, Manning was clearly on his last legs as a top-flight QB, but his defense (which was ranked 4th overall in the league) helped him capture a final ring.