It sounds silly now.
But there was a time in NFL history when Peyton Manning was better than Tom Brady on the football field, and there was only one answer in the debate between two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time.
GettyTom Brady and Peyton Manning defined a generation for NFL fans[/caption]
Almost a decade after Manning retired as a walk-off Super Bowl champion, there’s no debate.
The 48-year-old Manning looks like a humble, salt-of-the-earth genius compared to an increasingly ego-obsessed looking Brady.
Which means that Brady — who spent the first week of the NFL playoffs being constantly blasted by annoyed fans — is again in second place and trailing Manning.
Can anyone reach Brady anymore?
Who knows?
He’s a 47-year-old running the Las Vegas Raiders and badly announcing football games at the same time, and he’s lost all the momentum he created after proving that he was the GOAT of New England’s dynasty.
Bill Belichick is also struggling with his football image in 2025, so maybe it’s just an old Patriots guys thing.
Either way, Brady was too great as a quarterback to become a running joke just two years after he threw his last pass.
“I like this call by the Phillies,” Brady said on TV while the NFL Eagles were beating the Green Bay Packers 10-0.
“Excuse me, by Philly.”
GettyManning has stayed in the spotlight but appeared humble and down to earth[/caption]
GettyBrady has become impossible to ignore and some fans have had enough[/caption]
GettyEli Manning has benefitted from partnering with his older brother[/caption]
That’s not just a rookie mistake, and it’s definitely not something that should be said by someone being paid a record-breaking $375 million to be on prime-time TV.
“Can’t wait for Greg Olsen to be back on the A team next year!” one fan tweeted.
“Maybe Brady’s not cut out for broadcasting,” a second fan posted.
“TB is the GOAT but he is brutal at this,” a third fan wrote.
While Brady has gone “Me! Me! Me!” after winning his seventh world championship, Manning has evolved into a man of the people and become likeable than ever.
The five-time NFL MVP won his second Super Bowl, then understood his place in the world and walked away from the top step at the perfect time.
Tale of the tape
TOM BRADY
Super Bowls won: 7
Teams: New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Post-career: NFL FOX announcer, Las Vegas Raiders minority owner, Netflix roast
Hall of Fame: Eligible in 2028
PEYTON MANNING
Super Bowls won: 2
Teams: Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos
Post-career: ESPN’s ManningCast, Omaha Productions
Hall of Fame: 2021
Manning is now funny on TV and a cool alternative to Monday Night Football.
Manning has even made Eli, his younger brother, so hip and cool that Chad Powers is on the verge of becoming a household streaming name.
Thanks to the ManningCast and the brothers Omaha Productions, Brady’s primary rival from 2000-15 has been given a warm and fuzzy look in 2025.
Brady was slammed for his me-first Netflix roast, and is now being shredded weekly for not paying his dues as a real NFL announcer.
“Tom Brady’s commentary sounds like he’s reading it off a teleprompter,” a fan tweeted.
“I really just want Tom Brady to go away,” a second fan wrote.
Of course, nothing is that simple.
The 25-year rivalry between Brady and Manning has only improved over time, with two men totaling 1,188 career touchdowns now teasing each other like super-friendly neighbors.
Brady isn’t “evil” — he’s just a little confused as he approaches 50 about who exactly he wants to be and what he really should be doing.
Since becoming the greatest No. 199 draft pick in NFL history, Brady has been praised, hated, loved and loathed.
In 2025, he’s simply back where he was when the Patriots and their Evil Empire were in the Super Bowl almost every year — NFL fans are tired of seeing TB12 all the time.
In less than a month, the biggest game in the world will return to screens across the globe.
Brady doesn’t have the chops to be a great announcer — or even better than Olsen in the booth.
But the NFL’s GOAT could make Super Bowl LIX a lot more enjoyable by understanding what makes Manning so likeable on TV.
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