Tom Brady (left) andPeyton Manning (right)

TheTom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry was a series of games that took place between 2001 and 2015 involving twoquarterbacks in theNational Football League (NFL):Tom Brady andPeyton Manning.^[1][2][3] It is considered by many to be the greatest individual NFL rivalry of all time, and has been compared to other legendary sports rivalries, such asMagic–Bird in basketball,Ali–Frazier in boxing, andMessi–Ronaldo in soccer.

Both quarterbacks are considered to be among the greatest in NFL history. Brady won a record sevenSuper Bowl championships in his career (as well as a record fiveSuper Bowl MVPs), while Manning won two Super Bowl championships (and one Super Bowl MVP) in his career.^[4] On the other hand, Manning would go on to win a record fiveMVP awards in his 18-year career, while Brady would win three in his 23-year career. Both quarterbacks also made thePro Bowl fourteen or more times in their careers,^[5] and both were selected to theNFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. Brady and Manning are the only starting quarterbacks to winSuper Bowls with multiple franchises, and are believed by many as the best NFL players of the 2000s and 2010s.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]}

Despite their rivalry, the two former quarterbacks have a close and longstanding friendship, and frequently make media appearances and conduct interviews together.^[14][15]

Tom Brady played for theNew England Patriots from2000, when he was the 199th selection in the sixth round of the2000 NFL draft, through2019.^[16] AfterDrew Bledsoe was injured in week 2 of the2001 season, Brady got his first career start againstPeyton Manning'sIndianapolis Colts, winning the game 44–13.^[17] Brady was the Patriots' startingquarterback until the team's final game of the2019 season, with the exception of2008, when he tore hisACL in the opening game, and2016, when he was suspended for the first four games of the season due to his alleged involvement in theDeflategate scandal.^[18] Brady appeared in a record tenSuper Bowls (nine with the Patriots, one with theTampa Bay Buccaneers) and won a record seven (six with the Patriots, one with the Buccaneers).^[19]

Manning was drafted by the Colts in the1998 NFL draft as thenumber 1 pick, and played for the Colts until the team's final game of the2010 season, as a neck injury caused him to miss the entire2011 season.^[20] The Colts finished 2–14 that year in his absence and secured the #1 pick in the draft where he became expendable once the consensus top prospect, quarterbackAndrew Luck ofStanford, was available. During his time with the Colts, Manning led them to two Super Bowls,winning one.^[21] On March 20, 2012, after fourteen years with the Colts, Manning signed with theDenver Broncos, for whom he played until his retirement following the2015 season. He led the Broncos to two Super Bowl appearances, winningSuper Bowl 50 in what would be his final game. Like Brady, Manning led his new team to their first Super Bowl win in nearly two decades.

Manning and Brady played each other seventeen times.^[23] Brady won the overall head-to-head series 11–6, but Manning won the AFC conference championship head-to-head series 3–1. From 2001 to 2015, the two quarterbacks met at least once every season, except2002, 2008, and 2011; while Brady's Patriots and Manning's Colts played each other in 2008 and 2011, Brady missed the 2008 season and Manning missed the 2011 season, both due to injuries (Brady with an ACL tear suffered Week 1 and Manning with neck problems). The two quarterbacks did not meet during the 2015 regular season (Brady's Patriots did play Manning's Broncos, but Manning missed the game due to aplantar fasciitis injury), though they met inthat year's AFC Championship Game.

Brady won theColts–Patriots series 8–4^[24] and also won the Broncos–Patriots series 3–2, though Manning's two wins with the Broncos both occurred in theAFC Championship Games in2013 and 2015. Brady led the series inFoxborough 8–2, while Manning led the series inIndianapolis/Denver 4–3.^[25]

The two quarterbacks met five times in theNFL Playoffs, in which Manning won three of them (all five were won by the home team, as Brady's two wins both came in Foxborough). Four of the five match-ups were in the AFC Championship Game, with Manning winning three of the four, one of the games with the Colts (2006) and another two with the Broncos (2013, 2015). The winner of each of the playoff match-ups went on to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. Four of the teams, Brady's2003 and2004 Patriots and Manning's2006 Colts and2015 Broncos went on to win the Super Bowl, while Manning's2013 Broncos lost the game.

Despite their rivalry for status as the league's best quarterback, Brady and Manning maintained a strong mutual respect, admiration and liking. When Brady's season ended due to a knee injury in the opening game of the2008 season, Manning called him to check in. After his surgically replaced knee developed a staph infection, Brady remembered Manning previously had a similar issue and called him for advice.^[26] During theDeflategate scandal, a leaked email showed Brady saying that he thought Manning’s playing days were limited, writing, “I’ve got another 7 or 8 years. He has 2.” Manning publicly defended Brady over the email, stating that Brady gave him an apology that was "unnecessary", and the fact that the emails leaked did not make any sense to him.^[27] A photo with Manning posted by Brady onTwitter in 2019 had the caption "Spoiler alert... we were friends this whole time."^[28]

In May 2020, Manning and Brady participated alongsideTiger Woods andPhil Mickelson in the rematch ofThe Match: Tiger vs. Phil as a charity fundraiser forCOVID-19 pandemic relief.^[29][30]

When Manning was inducted into thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2021, Brady attended his enshrinement ceremony and quipped on Twitter that he needed "to make sure (Manning's) really done. Can't risk this guy coming back..."^[22] Manning acknowledged Brady during his speech, saying "next year acceptance speeches will probably shrink to four minutes. And speaking of rivals, my good friend Tom Brady is here tonight. By the time he is inducted in his first year of eligibility in the year of 2035, he will only have time to post his acceptance speech on his Instagram account."^[31] Also at the event wereBruce Arians andTom Moore, both of whom coached Manning in Indianapolis and Brady in Tampa Bay.^[32]

• Myers, Gary (September 22, 2015).Brady vs Manning: The Untold Story of the Rivalry That Transformed the NFL. Crown Archetype.ISBN 978-0-8041-3937-3.

• 2001 beginnings
• 2016 endings
• 2000s in North American sport
• 2000s in the United States
• 2010s in North American sport
• 2010s in the United States
• Denver Broncos
• Indianapolis Colts
• Individual rivalries in sports
• Manning family
• NFL rivalries
• New England Patriots
• Tom Brady

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from June 2024