“You Eat All That Sh*t?”: Diet-Conscious Tom Brady Was Once Shocked by Watching Peyton Manning Eat Breakfast

Apart from his seven Super Bowl rings and a mind-boggling 23-year-long NFL career, what has also separated Tom Brady from his peers is his relationship with food. We are talking about his famous TB12 Method.

For most of his career, Brady followed a strict nutritional routine built around the TB12 diet that was roughly 80% plant-based and 20% lean animal-based protein. It had no dairy, no gluten, no processed sugar, and a heavy emphasis on anti-inflammatory foods.

While we, mere mortals, would call this framework a special diet, the Patriots legend made it his lifestyle. And it is often credited for helping him play well into his 40s while recovering faster than players half his age. Brady’s insistence on maintaining nutritional balance and his knowledge of dietary matters made one offseason interaction with Peyton Manning all the more hilarious.

Brady recalled the 2010 incident while appearing on The Big Podcast with Shaq in December last year. The GOAT had decided to spend a few days with Manning in Tennessee. It was a quarterback retreat of sorts.

The idea was simple: Cut out the noise, train together, and talk football. Brady, by then, was already a decade into his NFL career and felt he had learned enough from quarterback coaches. So he called Manning directly and suggested they do their own mini retreat.

Peyton agreed, invited him to his place, and the two legends spent days working out, playing golf, riding jet skis… and, of course, eating meals together. One morning, as they sat down for breakfast at what Brady described as an old cabin-style setup, the staff asked the Patriots QB what he wanted.

Brady’s order was exactly what you’d expect him to place. “I’ll take oatmeal and two scrambled eggs,” Brady recalled saying. Then it was Manning’s turn, whose order shook Brady to the core.

“He’s like, ‘I want biscuits and gravy, three pancakes, six [pieces of] bacon. I want three sausages,’” revealed the former Patriot. “You eat all that sh*t?” he then asked, stunned, as Manning casually ordered what sounded like an entire Southern breakfast buffet for himself.

Brady laughed as he told the story, admitting the moment perfectly captured how different the two superstars were in their approaches. While he was getting obsessed with inflammation, recovery, and longevity back then, Manning was very much still enjoying comfort food unapologetically.

What makes the story even better is that both approaches clearly worked. Manning went on to have one of the most cerebral careers in NFL history, winning five MVPs and two Super Bowls, the second one coming with Denver late in the final year of his career in 2015. He was 39 at the time.

Brady, meanwhile, turned his dietary discipline into a competitive advantage, playing well until 45 and even winning a Super Bowl with the Bucs, late in his career. At the age of 43, to be exact.

So in hindsight, the breakfast contrast wasn’t about right or wrong. It was just about two legends doing things their own way and embracing what’s worked for them. Different plates. Same greatness!