Peyton Manning Jokes About Sending Gifts to Tom Brady Before Un-Retirement: I Want the 'Wine Back'

The former professional football player revealed he wrote and mailed a two-page letter along with a bottle of wine to Tom Brady following the announcement of the latter's retirement

Peyton Manning and Tom Brady
Photo: Greg Gayne/NBC/NBCU/Getty Images; Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

It's a good thing Peyton Manning didn't throw a full retirement party for Tom Brady.

During an event hosted by The MINT Collective Saturday, the 46-year-old ManningCast Monday Night Football host revealed that after Brady announced his retirement from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February he wrote and mailed the quarterback a two-page letter along with a bottle of wine. Since then, of course, Brady has reversed his plans to walk away from the NFL.

"I want the letter back," joked Manning at the event, according to video footage shared on Twitter. "You got to read all these nice things, I want it back. I want the bottle of wine back, too."

Brady was drafted by the New England Patriots in 2000 and spent the first 20 seasons of his career with the team, winning six Super Bowls. His most recent two seasons in the NFL were played with the Buccaneers, who Brady led to his seventh Super Bowl victory in 2021.

While announcing his decision to retire last month, Brady stated that "the future is exciting" while admitting he didn't know exactly what the days ahead would look like but wanted to focus on working to "enrich other people's lives."

"I've done a lot of reflecting this past week and have asked myself difficult questions. And I am so proud of what we have achieved. My teammates, coaches, fellow competitors, and fans deserve 100% of me, but right now, it's best I leave the field of play to the next generation of dedicated and committed athletes," Brady wrote at the time.

This month Brady, 44, revealed that he will no longer be retiring from the NFL, despite the Feb. announcement.

"These past two months I've realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it's not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible," the quarterback wrote on Twitter earlier in March.

"I'm coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG," Brady confirmed.

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