From the field to the booth, former Tennessee football quarterback Peyton Manning is set to renew his rivalry with Tom Brady. This time, however, it will be over who is better on television, not who is better at playing quarterback in the NFL.
FOX Sports announced Tuesday that Brady, whenever he does retire, will join the broadcast booth as FOX’s lead football analyst. He will work alongside Kevin Burkhardt and make a whopping $37.5 million a year over 10 years, according to the New York Post.
If this upcoming season is Tom Brady’s last as an NFL quarterback, then there are at least two seasons in which he and Peyton Manning will overlap in their broadcasting careers. Manning and his brother will still be calling Monday Night Football games on ESPN2 and ESPN+ as part of the Manningcast through 2024, which was reported in February.
ESPN expanded its agreement with Peyton and Eli Manning, and “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli”, through the 2024 NFL season. pic.twitter.com/HNyqI3bif0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) February 9, 2022
Now this makes things interesting. What used to be competition on the field is about to turn into a ratings war. Will Manning do more for ESPN, or will Brady do more for FOX? Brady’s broadcasting role seems more conventional, but just as he did on the field, Manning is the one changing the game here.
Brady and Manning have so many things in common and so many connections that date back to college. It starts with 1997, when the Michigan Wolverines won the national title. Brady was a backup on that team but his teammate, Charles Woodson, beat out Manning for the Heisman.
The next year, directly after Manning left for the NFL, Tennessee football won the national title. Brady started the next two years and didn’t win the title. Michigan won it the year directly before he took over. That’s one similarity.
Obviously, both had Hall of Fame careers, Brady more known for the Super Bowls and Manning more known for the MVPs. However, Manning had two Super Bowls, and Brady has three MVPs, so they won their share of the other awards too.
Finally, both quarterbacks are the only two in history to win a Super Bowl ring with multiple teams. Simply put, their rivalry extends beyond the five times they met in the playoffs during the 16 years their pro careers overlapped, of which they both started 13 years.
Simply put, the Tom Brady-Peyton Manning rivalry just got a whole lot more interesting. Of course, Eli Manning has his own rivalry with Brady (2-0 vs. Brady in Super Bowls), so it’s really Brady vs. the Mannings in his broadcast career. Since those two Mannings cost him five more rings, it’s a worthy duel.