It’s hard to fathom Peyton Manning and Tom Brady becoming good friends while they were rivals at the prime of their careers. They competed in 17 games, with Brady and the New England Patriots winning 11. However, the competition remained only on the football field, as Manning shared during Brady’s induction to the Patriots Hall of Fame.
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He revealed how spending time together during the 2009 offseason forged their friendship:
“We met in a small town in Tennessee. I said, ‘Tom, let’s kind of reel under the radar. Don’t tell anybody we’re coming in.’ Tom flies in on Mr. Kraft’s plane, a big huge plane. I’m like, ‘That is not what I said. I said under the radar.'”
Manning further revealed that he and Tom Brady played golf and lifted weights to keep their bodies active during that offseason. The two elite quarterbacks also finetuned their craft by throwing routes with wide receivers attending a local high school.
Tom Brady and Peyton Manning talking about when they became close friends is so wholesome. Great storytelling here…pic.twitter.com/wkJkYQHWKX
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 14, 2024
However, since camera phones were already a thing back then, Brady and Manning took their phones and told the students not to reveal that they were there working out together. Since that time was at the peak of rivalry, football fans might find it hard to digest two competitors spending time with each other beyond the games wherein they faced each other.
Spending those two days with each other might have helped their on-field prowess. In 2009, Manning won his fourth MVP award, while Brady won Comeback Player of the Year honors after playing only one game the previous season due to an ACL tear he suffered after a tackle by Kansas City Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard.
While no one knows how Manning got to Tennessee, he considers it home after playing four seasons for the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Conversely, Brady didn’t necessarily follow Manning’s prescribed script, as he used the billionaire Patriots owner’s aircraft to reach Tennessee.
Brady and Manning’s Two-Day Connection
It was a move that didn’t necessarily go “under the radar,” as Peyton Manning jokingly repeated because the air traffic control tower at the airport indeed detected Brady’s arrival. During Brady’s induction to the Patriots HOF, Manning also threw another joke about using Mr. Kraft’s airport as a “salary cap violation.”
However, they did a fantastic job concealing that two-day connection because few know about it. Meanwhile, Brady and Manning’s football brilliance did not go under the radar. In addition to his five MVPs, Manning led two franchises to Super Bowl victories. He won with the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI and the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl 50.
Not to be outdone, Tom Brady has three MVP awards and followed Peyton Manning as the only starting quarterback to win Super Bowls with two different teams. Brady achieved that feat after leading the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to victory over Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Even if their playing days are over, Brady and Manning continue to be winners by building their respective business empires. Likewise, Brady will start his ten-year, $375 million contract as FOX Sports’ lead color commentator this season.
