Peyton Manning and Demaryius Thomas formed a close bond in their four seasons together on the Broncos. Twice they reached the Super Bowl, including winning it in 2016 in what was Manning’s final game, and they became good friends off the field, too.
Wednesday, the Hall of Fame quarterback honored his late teammate who died unexpectedly at the age of 33 last December with the creation of a scholarship fund in Thomas’ name at his alma mater, Georgia Tech.
The Demaryius Thomas Scholarship Endowment will award academic scholarships to incoming freshmen from Laurens County, Ga., where Thomas was born, or the surrounding area.
“Demaryius Thomas was an incredibly talented and unselfish teammate, but more importantly, he was a special person and friend,” Manning said in a statement. “My family and I miss him dearly, and we wanted to honor D.T.’s memory by partnering the PeyBack Foundation with Georgia Tech to establish the Demaryius A. Thomas Scholarship Endowment.
“An important part of Demaryius’ legacy was the way he inspired the next generation to pursue their dreams with the same perseverance and determination that defined him. Through this scholarship to Georgia Tech, Demaryius will have a lasting impact on deserving youth from his hometown area who can follow in his footsteps and accomplish great things in life.”
Georgia Tech also announced that Aug. 8 will be recognized as Demaryius Thomas Day each year — Thomas’ jersey number for the Yellow Jackets was No. 8. The team’s helmets for the 2022 season will also be adorned with a No. 8 decal.
Thomas was found dead at his home in Roswell, Ga., on Dec. 9. It’s believed that he died from a seizure, a complication he suffered as a result of a 2019 car accident.
Though Thomas’s career spanned a decade across four teams, including the Jets, his best years came in Denver, where he spent his first eight-and-a-half seasons after being drafted 22nd overall in 2010. With the Broncos, he twice topped the 100-catch mark, tallied 60 touchdown catches, which included being on the receiving end of Manning’s 509th career touchdown pass — an NFL record at the time — and was a four-time Pro Bowl selection.
“He was a close friend of our whole family,” Manning told the L.A. Times. “He and [my wife], Ashley, were buddies. He was great to our kids. He loved Marshall and Mosley and they loved him. He’d come over to our house after games.
“He’d have a great game or something, and he was talking to them after the game almost as if that was more exciting to him than actually playing in the game. He was great with all kids — coaches’ kids, staff’s kids — he was really special that way and great in the community with his community service.
“[We] wanted to find a way to honor him and keep his legacy alive, and also give back at the same time to someone from the same area where he’s from. Georgia Tech has been great through all of this.”
Thomas, who also played for the Texans and Patriots, finished his career with 724 career receptions for 9,763 yards and 63 touchdowns. He retired in 2021.