Tom Brady credited this longtime rival as a ‘gift’ to his career

"It takes everything you have to beat a true rival."

Tom Brady and Peyton Manning battled for over a decade on the gridiron. AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File

July 23, 2025

2 minutes to read

Tom Brady’s resume might speak for itself after 23 years in the NFL.

But for most of the first half of his tenure with the Patriots, his standing as one of the top QBs in the game was often challenged by Peyton Manning.

For years, matchups between Brady’s Patriots and Manning’s Colts were appointment viewing across the NFL — be it an anticipated primetime matchups in the regular season or a pitched playoff bout in January.

That rivalry carried over into Manning’s final seasons with the Broncos, where Brady was tasked with going blow-for-blow with one of the top offensive units ever assembled in Denver.

Even though Brady holds the clear edge over Manning when it comes to Super Bowl victories (seven to two), Manning also played a role in some crushing playoff exits for New England, headlined by AFC Championship defeats in 2006 and 2015.

As part of Brady’s newsletter, the Patriots legend reflected on his battles with Manning and how that competition drew the best out of him.

“It takes everything you have to beat a true rival,” Brady wrote. “When the stakes are really high, when you have to destroy them and bury them under the goalposts to guarantee victory, it’s that much harder to summon that extra level of strength, focus and will, if you think of the guys on the other team as your friends, if you’re doing each other’s podcasts and acting like everyone’s your brother.

“But when you see them as your enemy, it puts you in a frame of mind to fully defend, by any means necessary, what you are trying to achieve.”

Brady ultimately won 11 of his 17 matchups against Manning, although Manning was3-2 against Brady during postseason play.

“Peyton Manning was a gift to my NFL career,” Brady wrote. “I maybe didn’t fully know it at the time, but I needed someone to look up to, who inspired me to be better, and who gave me a target to aim for.

“Now when I see him, the only thing I can say is thank you. Thank you for challenging me to be the best I could be, to dig deep in March and April and May when nobody was watching, and to have expectations for myself that were above and beyond what others thought was possible.”

Manning has echoed a similar message over the years when it comes to his battles — and friendship — with Brady that spans over a decade.

“You knew when you were playing against a Tom Brady team, you better be at your best, cause if you weren’t, Tom Brady was going to beat you every time,” Manning said at Brady’s Patriots Hall of Fame induction last June.