Eli Manning announced his retirement from the NFL and one of the first players to send a message to the former New York Giants star quarterback was Tom Brady. Once Manning made it official, the six-time Super Bowl champion took to Twitter and congratulated Manning on his career. Brady also mentioned one thing he wished Manning didn’t do while he was in the NFL.
“Congratulations on your retirement, and a great career Eli!” Brady said. “Not going to lie though, I wish you hadn’t won any Super Bowls.”
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When Manning took questions from the media, he was asked about Brady’s tweet. Manning has known Brady for a long time and is not surprised he mentioned the Super Bowl wins against him.
“I’ve been around Tom. I know how competitive he is,” Manning said. “We joke around about this a little bit. But it’s not real funny to him.”
Manning and the Giants defeated Brady and the Patriots in the Super Bowl in 2008 and 2012. The Super Bowl in 2008 was a huge win for Manning and the Giants because they took down a Patriots team that came into the game undefeated. In 2012, the Patriots weren’t undefeated, but they entered the game as a heavy favorite and Manning was able to lead the Giants to a win in the final minutes.
The Giants announced Manning was retiring from the NFL on Wednesday. He would have been a free agent this offseason and he was no longer the starting quarterback as he was replaced by Daniel Jones who the Giants drafted in the first round last year.
“For 16 seasons, Eli Manning defined what it is to be a New York Giant both on and off the field,” Giants’ president and chief executive officer John Mara said via the Giants’ official website. “Eli is our only two-time Super Bowl MVP and one of the very best players in our franchise’s history. He represented our franchise as a consummate professional with dignity and accountability. It meant something to Eli to be the Giants quarterback, and it meant even more to us. We are beyond grateful for his contributions to our organization and look forward to celebrating his induction into the Giants Ring of Honor in the near future.”
It’s unclear what Manning’s next move will be, but it’s very likely he will get offers to do commentary for NFL games next year.
