There are some numbers that are synonymous with a position in NFL history. Many great QBs have donned the No. 12, many RBs the No. 21, and No. 56 has always been associated with great pass rushers since Lawrence Taylor. One that is synonymous with a single player, however, is No. 18. When NFL fans think of No. 18, they automatically think of just one man: Peyton Manning.
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Back when he was playing high school ball at Isidore Newman in New Orleans, Peyton donned the No. 14. When he moved on to Knoxville and the University of Tennessee Volunteers, he bumped it up to No. 16. But when he entered the NFL with the Indianapolis Colts, he put that famous No. 18 on. And when he moved to the Denver Broncos later in his career, he got permission from Denver’s inaugural QB, Frank Tripucka, to unretire the digits so he could keep wearing No. 18.
Obviously, Manning really loved that No. 18. But why was that number so special to him? Peyton was the middle son of New Orleans Saints’ legendary QB Archie Manning. His younger brother, Eli, is an icon and a two-time Super Bowl champ with the New York Giants. But the eldest of the three brothers, Cooper, was the reason Peyton started wearing No. 18.
“I was a sophomore, and he was a senior, and he was a wide receiver. And that was really the best time I’ve ever had playing football, still. I completed about 110 passes that year, and I threw 80 to my brother Cooper. So the other receivers obviously weren’t too happy with me or with Cooper. And we had our own signals, had our own plays, had our own code words, and it was really a lot of fun,” Peyton revealed.
Did it to honor his brother
Cooper was a highly-rated prospect coming out of high school. He committed to Ole Miss, but upon visiting the Mayo Clinic after feeling numbness in his extremities, it was revealed he had spinal stenosis. It’s a narrowing of the spine and pinching of the nerves that meant Cooper’s football career would be cut drastically short. To honor his brother, Peyton Manning began wearing No. 18, Cooper’s high school number.
“He was a great receiver. But he was injured in his freshman year at Ole Miss, so he had to give up football. So I changed my jersey number and wore the number he wore, which was 18. That’s still why I wear 18 today because I still feel like I’m playing my football for my brother, who doesn’t have a chance to play anymore.”
While Cooper didn’t get the NFL glory his brothers and father experienced, he still made a good living for himself. He is now a successful businessman who mixes finance with football. He hosts The Manning Hour on Fox Sports, but he is also the principal and senior managing director of an investment relations firm, AJ Capital Partners.
Perhaps his biggest and most important investment, however, was in his son, Arch Manning. The scion of the Manning football dynasty is heading into his first year as the starting quarterback for the Texas Longhorns. There is already a ton of buzz about his massive ceiling, potential, and, of course, his pedigree.
If all goes well in 2025, Arch Manning will likely be the No. 1 overall pick at the 2026 NFL Draft. In the end, Cooper will be able to live out his NFL dream not just through his brothers but through his own son as well. Spinal stenosis was a bad rap. But seeing his son in the NFL may make for a pretty good consolation prize for Coop.
