Peyton Manning, Tom Brady
When Tom Brady announced his retirement, Peyton Manning had gifts.
Just about a month later, Brady announced his un-retirement, and Manning didn’t have more gifts. Instead, he had jokes this time around.
“I wrote [Tom] this long [personal letter],” Manning said via ESPN. “I mailed it to him, sent him a bottle of wine. And then he unretires and I’m like, I want the letter back! You got to read all these nice things, I want it back. I want the bottle of wine back, too.”
Since Manning’s retirement, the two quarterbacks have been in the news together quite a bit. While the rivalry has always been intense on the field, post-retirement has shown fans a much different side of the Manning/Brady friendship. The two still have a competitive bone and won’t hesitate to poke fun of each other, but as good and respectful friends. The retirement joke is a perfect example.
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When Manning was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August, Brady was right there in his personal section – which, of course, led to a joke.
“And speaking of rivals, my good friend Tom Brady is here tonight,” Manning said in his HoF speech as the crowd laughingly boo’d Brady. “By the time Tom Brady is inducted in his first year of eligibility, in the year 2035, he’ll only have time to post his acceptance speech on his Instagram account.”
In February, after Brady officially announced his retirement, Manning was one of the first to acknowledge.
“Congratulations to my friend Tom on an unbelievable football career,” Hall of Fame quarterback Manning said in a statement. “To do it as long as he did, at the highest of levels is absolutely incredible. It was an honor & privilege to compete against him on the field, and I truly appreciate his friendship off the field.”
In 17 all-time meetings between Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the former New England and Tampa Bay quarterback has the lead on Manning, 11-6. Additionally, the two quarterbacks matched up against each other in every year of their careers except for 2008, 2011, and 2015 due to injury.
“I have always admired & respected his competitiveness, his dedication, his discipline, and his commitment to being the best,” Manning continued on to say about Brady. “I wish him the best in his next chapter. Congratulations again, pal!”
Now that Brady is back out of retirement, though… Is Peyton Manning going to get that wine back or not, Tom?
Peyton Manning had jokes for Tom Brady 😅
(via @1MINTCollective) pic.twitter.com/ksKdOnusWa
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 27, 2022
