Tom Brady knows you shall not covet thy neighbor, but he also doesn’t mind being honest about his rivalry with Peyton Manning.
Speaking prior to Super Bowl 50 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara Sunday where he was honored pregame for being a former Super Bowl MVP, Brady told reporters that he would be “very jealous” of Manning if the Denver Broncos quarterback wins a Super Bowl.
“If he wins I think it’s an incredible thing for him to be able to accomplish and I would be very happy for him as a friend. I would also be very jealous that he won a Super Bowl,” Brady said via WEEI’s Ryan Hannable. “There’s a lot of conflict internally. At the same time, you have to have appreciation because it’s so hard to do and I think I am a person that has always had great appreciation for the players who play the game and sacrifice so much, give up so much of their bodies and their families and their time commitments to play this sport that America loves.”
Though there is talk that Manning may walk away from football and retire after the Super Bowl, Brady is not so sure that is the case. He knows how competitive Manning is and believes that much like himself, Manning would not walk away from the game “without exhausting every last bit of his entire body.”
“Nobody loves the sport as much as Peyton and I think he and I have that in common,” Brady said.
So maybe you can count Brady in a group who would be surprised if Manning retires. And though he would be jealous if Peyton wins a ring, Brady would still be well ahead in that competition. He has four, while Peyton only had one entering Sunday.
