Tom Brady Details How Peyton Manning Influenced His Patriots Halftime Ceremony

Even in retirement, the rival quarterbacks remain linked.

Former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is adjusting to life after football, basking in the glow of a ceremony held in his honor at halftime of New England’s 25–20 loss to the Eagles Sunday.

However, even in retirement, Brady can’t quite shake the influence of longtime rival Peyton Manning.

On Monday’s edition of Let's Go!, Brady’s podcast with longtime Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald and sportscaster Jim Gray, Brady filled Manning in on how one of the ex-Colts and Broncos quarterback’s post-retirement ceremonies influenced his younger rival’s over the weekend.

“He gets up on stage, says his great things like he always does,” Brady recalled of Manning’s jersey retirement by Indianapolis in 2017. “He gets off the stage and throws, (Jeff) Saturday snaps him the ball, and fires a post to Reggie (Wayne).”

Brady suggested that Manning inspired him to take a lighthearted approach to the Patriots’ pomp and circumstance; he ended up running into the end zone one final time in his familiar No. 12 jersey.

“I was like, you know what? I’m gonna do something fun that the crowd’s gonna really like,” Brady said. “So Peyton, even though you weren’t there, you were a part of that celebration yesterday.”