Peyton Manning BRISTOL, TN – APRIL 17: Former NFL quarterback, Peyton Manning stands on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17, 2016 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

It appears the legacy of Peyton Manning will settle into retirement without a blemish in the eyes of the National Football League. Months after riding off into the sunset with a second Super Bowl victory, Manning has been cleared by an NFL investigation against allegations previously made by a report from Al-Jazeera that he had received shipments of HGH products in 2011.

The NFL’s investigation included player interviews and even an interview with Manning’s wife. In addition to gathering and reviewing various amounts of evidence, the NFL eventually decided there was not enough in place to give credit to the report previously published by Al-Jazeera America, in which Manning and a number of other professional athletes including Clay Matthews, James Harrison, Julius Peppers and more football and non-football stars, were accused of HGH use.

Manning issued a strong denial of the allegations made by the report and never backed down from his stance. At the same time, Manning said he would not file any lawsuit against Al-Jazeera America over the report. This was an odd decision, given some others had taken legal action in response, but Manning may have just wanted to move on and focus on retirement at the time. Who knows?

The credibility for the Al-Jazeera report lacked a foundation to stand on, of course, when the key intern connected to details of the story backpedaled from his original story. As noted by ESPN, however, Manning may be in the clear but other players may still have some questions to answer from the league as the NFL continues to investigate the report’s details. From ESPN:

The league still is planning to interview Packers linebackers Julius Peppers and Clay Matthews when Green Bay’s camp opens Monday, along with former Packers defensive lineman Mike Neal and Steelers linebacker James Harrison — all of whom were mentioned in the Al-Jazeera report.

Each of the players sent written affidavits to the NFL, thinking that was sufficient for the league’s investigation. The league thought otherwise andis now demanding that each player meet with NFL security and legal teams. Failure to participate in interviews with the league would be considered as part of the evaluation process for potential discipline.

This story may not be going away any time too soon, but it does appear the Manning part of the story is now a thing of the past.

[ESPN]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.