Peyton Manning earned an impressive $248.7 million solely from his NFL contracts. But he prefers not be pompous about it. It’s true that Manning is an intelligent investor and a businessperson, which explains how he has managed to give a good lifestyle to his family even after his retirement.
Advertisement
Manning’s acquisitions have had a solid reason behind them. In 2012, he purchased a 7-bedroom, 8.5-bath mansion in South Colarado Boulevard for $4.6 million to have a permanent base when he joined the Denver Broncos. It is believed that Manning and his family stay in the same house till date.
However, Manning studied the potential of real estate in the same block where he bought that house and purchased another one in 2023. He invested $5.3 million in that property and bought it for business purposes rather than a personal one, to augment his income.
Manning also made a lot of money from owning 31 Papa John’s franchises in Denver from 2012 to 2018. Currently, he owns Omaha Productions, a multimedia entertainment company which has partnered with ESPN for the production of Monday Night Football.
Any athlete in Manning’s place would have wanted to possess and show off to the world, how luxurious their lifestyle is. There is this belief that money attracts more money and the more you remain in the limelight, the more it attracts marketers and other business opportunities.
But it seems Manning has torn that theory apart with his austerity, which is not for show. The NFL Hall of Famer was recently captured by an onlooker boarding a commercial flight, not in a private suite or even business class, but what appeared to be the first row of the economy class. And fans took notice. Needless to say, it sparked a wave of admiration.
The consensus among fans reacting to the 5x NFL MVP’s act was: You don’t need to make a scene to make an impact. Or, as one fan noted, “Why waste money on a private jet?”
Humble: The legendary Peyton Manning has gone viral for flying commercial despite earning well over $200 MILLION in his career.
Manning is a true role model pic.twitter.com/pSFafTQyXu
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 20, 2025
Most social media users were left wishing they were the one who got the seat next to Manning. “Imagine sitting down in freaking seat 32C and in come comes Peyton. That’s crazy,” commented a fan.
Some even had a laugh over how this scenario would have played out with them. “Imagine you think the seat next to you is empty and then right when you get all comfy… Boom! Peyton Manning is like scoot over, bruh,” a fan wrote, working his creativity on hyperdrive.
The rest, meanwhile, applauded the Broncos legend for being classy as always. “Gotta respect Peyton Manning flying commercial like the rest of us. No ego, just class,” a fan wrote.
Manning’s grounded nature, by the way, isn’t just limited to travel choices. Whether it’s delivering 30,000 pounds of supplies to Hurricane Katrina victims with brother Eli or quietly funding scholarships in the name of his late teammate Demaryius Thomas, Peyton does it all without advertising it to the world himself
And perhaps that’s what sets him apart from his peers. But the NFL legend’s uniqueness doesn’t mean he is better than others, except that it does reinforce what fans love about Manning: The authenticity.
So when someone asked, “Why waste money on a private jet?” in response to the viral clip, it didn’t feel sarcastic. It felt real. Because if Peyton Manning can choose the humble route, maybe we could all take a page from his playbook.
