The rivalry between Tom Brady and Peyton Manning is one of the most fierce yet friendly ones in global sports. Apparently, their competitive spirit stretches far beyond the football field.
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Just as the NBA had Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, football fans were blessed to see Tom Brady and Peyton Manning battle it out during the 2000s and early 2010s.
The two legendary QBs, who many fans place #1 and #2 on the list of the greatest NFL players of all-time, played against each other 17 times before Manning retired in 2016.
Brady got the best of Manning overall, winning 11 of those games, but the Sheriff emerged victorious when it mattered the most. He was 3-2 against Brady in the postseason, and memorably beat him in the 2015 AFC Championship game on the way to his 2nd Super Bowl ring.
Of course, this game would be the last time they played each other. At least, it was the last time they fought it out on the gridiron. A few years later, the duo would once again be going head-to-head, only this time it was on a rainy golf course.
Manning and Brady teamed up with golf legends Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson respectively to play in Capital One’s popular charity event called “The Match” in 2020 to raise money for COVID relief.
Peyton Manning was Ruthless With His Trash Talk Aimed At Tom Brady
Ahead of the game, Manning was asked who he would bring along as a caddy if he was allowed to have one. Could bring Eli [Manning],” he answered. “Could bring Nick Foles. I was thinking maybe Bill Belichick. Bill Belichick caddying for me, just to see how that would’ve worked.”
“That wouldn’t have got in my head,” Brady joked in response. Obviously, Manning didn’t hold back on his trash talk, bringing up his brother and Nick Foles who are the only QBs to ever win a Super Bowl against Brady. It might’ve even worked because Brady didn’t have a great game and the Tiger-Peyton team would secure the win.
But of course, Manning and Brady are very close friends. Despite wanting constantly wanting to beat each other on the field, they still trained together multiple times during the offseason and were always making each other better football players.
When Manning was inducted into the Hall of Fame earlier this year, Brady, and Bill Belichick for that matter, was in attendance and showed his support for a longtime rival for whom he clearly has a ton of respect.
