Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry
The Tom Brady–Peyton Manning rivalry was a series of games that took place between 2001 and 2015 involving two quarterbacks in the National Football League (NFL): Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. 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 as Magic–Bird in basketball, Ali–Frazier in boxing, and Messi–Ronaldo in soccer.
Both quarterbacks are considered to be among the greatest in NFL history. Brady won seven Super Bowl championships in his career (as well as five Super Bowl MVPs), while Manning won two Super Bowl championships (and one Super Bowl MVP) in his career. Contrarily, Manning would go on to win a record five MVP awards in his 18-year career, while Brady would win three in his 23-year career. Both quarterbacks also made the Pro Bowl fourteen or more times in their careers, and both were selected to the NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team in 2019. Brady and Manning are the only starting quarterbacks to win Super Bowls with multiple franchises, and are believed by many as the best NFL players of the 2000s and 2010s.
Despite their rivalry, the two former quarterbacks have a close and longstanding friendship, and frequently make media appearances and conduct interviews together.