Peyton Manning is quite the jokester these days, but back in his playing days, he was once on the receiving end of a pretty hilarious prank.
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Manning played in the NFL from 1998 to 2015, achieving heights players would only dream of. He won two Super Bowls, won five MVP awards (the most ever by an NFL player), breaking several passing records along the way.
With the Denver Broncos, he played with a star-studded group of wide receivers that consisted of Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker. On the field, the trio was a menace, and off of it, well they were still a menace as Manning would find out.
Sept. 5, 2013 — The 2013 NFL season started off with a bang, as HOF QB Peyton Manning tied a league record by tossing 7 TD passes in a 49–27 Broncos beatdown of the Baltimore Ravens. Demaryius Thomas, @Julius_Thomas, and @WesWelker each caught two TDs. Bubba Caldwell caught one. pic.twitter.com/AzN5JrOgUz
— Mile High Moments (@MileHighMoments) September 5, 2021
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Peyton Manning couldn’t believe the prank his teammates Wes Welker, Demaryius Thomas, and Erick Decker played on him
While Manning was a stickler for practicing hard and playing well on the field, he did have a fun side to him, making him a great teammate to hang out with or even prank.
Welker, Thomas, and Decker all devised the perfect prank to play on Manning, and they got him good. Manning may have been one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play in the NFL, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he was the strongest or most muscular looking person on the field.
In contrast, Welker, Decker, and Thomas all worked hard to shape their bodies for the physical demands the wide receiver position demands. The three receivers used that fact to their advantage when they pranked Manning.
They called him for a photoshoot with Sports Illustrated where all of them were shirtless and in their shoulder pads, showing off their well-defined muscles and bodies. Manning was all dressed up in his uniform, and he felt very awkward and out of place. He hated being there, and at one point he said, “[t]his is like a playgirl shot.” The full video is here: