That one time in 2012 when Rob Lowe reported Peyton Manning was retiring

The last time there were speculations that Peyton Manning was headed into retirement, the news brought to us by trusted sports reporter Robe Lowe.

After an 18-year career, Peyton Manning is retiring.

The first to report Manning's retirement was actor Rob Lowe. But there was one issue with Lowe's report: He was four years too early. 

Lowe tweeted this on Jan. 18, 2012, when Manning's future with the Colts was in doubt after he missed the entire 2011 season due to injury:

Hearing my fave, #18 Peyton Manning will not return to #NFL. Wow. #Colts

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) January 18, 2012

He followed up his initial tweet by saying that his “people” were hearing that Manning was set to retire that very day. We're still unclear on who these mysterious “people” are, but it looks like they led Lowe astray.

@richeisen My people are saying Manning will retire today. What do you hear? #NFL

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) January 18, 2012

He didn't stop there though, adding that he hoped he was wrong about the news. His wish would come true!

#Colts fans, let's hope my info is wrong. Don't like being wrong, but this time... I'm hoping #NFL #Manning

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) January 18, 2012

Manning, NFL fans, and reporters (who were honestly probably a little nervous that Lowe had scooped them) were genuinely confused by the report.

Twitter wasted no time when it came to giving Lowe his very own hashtag. #RobLoweIsReporting became the go-to hashtag for making up other news that Lowe had reported.

#RobLoweIsReporting that Kobe, Durant, Howard, and Lebron will all be taking their talents to the Washington Wizards

— Thomas Otto (@Thom_Otto) January 18, 2012

#RobLoweIsReporting Lebron James has officially been traded to the Toronto Raptors for a washing machine

— Emo Tony Stark (@DrewsMoves) January 18, 2012

#RobLoweIsReporting Tim Tebow has converted to Islam

— butterthegnar (@butterthegnar) January 18, 2012

The quarterback’s father, Archie Manning, found the news pretty hilarious, making the pretty valid point that his son probably would have told him that he was going to retire.

Archie Manning laughed when he heard @RobLowe said Peyton will retire, "Noooo...he ain't retiring. I think he would've told me." #NFL32

— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) January 18, 2012

Manning’s agent Tom Condon also had no idea what was going on.

Ran the Rob Lowe Peyton Manning tweet past Manning's agent, Tom Condon, a little while ago. Was first he'd heard of it and said if ...

— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 18, 2012

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Manning eventually shut down the rumors. 

“I never thought ‘Sodapop Curtis’ would announce my retirement,” Manning said, referencing Lowe’s role in the movie The Outsiders. He also added that he was caught “way off guard” and couldn't explain what Lowe was talking about.

Despite his claim that his information came from a “pretty darn good source,” Lowe quickly retired from journalism.

UPDATE: When the news was announced on Sunday, Lowe poked fun at himself for his previous “journalism.”

Peyton Manning's retirement is timed perfectly to step in at a brokered republican convention. Trust me, I'm never wrong on these things.

— Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) March 6, 2016