One of the most famous brothers in the last 3 decades of the NFL, the Manning brothers, Peyton and Eli, have achieved everything a player wants. Multi-million dollar deals, 2 Super Bowls, SB MVP, and multiple Pro Bowls! Sometimes, they even get jealous of the new talent in the league. And there is also an often downplayed enmity between the brothers about their abilities. Well, both have more than 50k+ passing yards, so there’s a rare quality that they don’t have. But some recent thing about Eli didn’t went well with Peyton.

On June 21, they were sitting with the 2024 rookies Caleb Williams, CJ Stroud, and Bryce Young at the Fanatics Fest NYC. While discussing, they started talking about the poise and calmness in a quarterback, which makes the team more relaxed and confident in his abilities. That’s what gave Peyton a chance to bash his brother while praising the Bears QB at the same time.

Elder Manning said, “Just watch, how calm he is in the pocket. Here’s Caleb, he’s got a guy right in his face. He spins out, I couldn’t do that, Eli certainly couldn’t do that.“As a rookie, Williams delivered 3,541 yards and 20 touchdowns, completing 62.5% of his throws, Bears rookie record. That came behind a line that surrendered 68 sacks, tied for the second-most in the league, yet he had only 6 interceptions. In other words, chaos everywhere, calm at the epicenter.

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The main part is that the calmness and poise spread from the QB to the entire roster. He added, “Poise is your teammates seeing you calm in the pocket and not flinching right because if your teammates see you calm, everybody else is going to be calm. Caleb, look how easily he went down. I mean, the guy didn’t touch him.” Well, the Bears need more than just poise to win games. Their overall team couldn’t support their signal caller.

However, Peyton Manning is above such talks now. He is still making a bag even after his retirement almost a decade ago. The man remains hugely popular in the league.

Peyton Manning outearns NFL stars in merchandizing earnings

Peyton Manning is still cashing in big, even years after hanging up his cleats. In the NFLPA’s latest royalty report, he pulled in a strong $2.2 million in group-licensed revenue, think jerseys, trading cards, video game likenesses, landing him fourth on the list behind JJ McCarthy, Travis Kelce, and Justin Herbert. Not a bad haul for a retiree who walked away in 2015. He recently featured on the all-century team of the last 25 years as well.

And Eli? He’s found his own gear. And he’s no longer just Peyton’s quieter little brother or the QB who twice broke New England’s heart. He’s become the co-star in one of the NFL’s most watchable media offshoots. His $875K haul from the latest NFLPA merchandizing report isn’t just leftovers. That’s the result of brand evolution. Jokes. Memes. New York loyalty. The Manning cast made Eli fun again, something we didn’t always get to see during his playing days.

Fans aren’t just buying into nostalgia; they’re buying into personality. This is rare air. Most former players don’t sniff this kind of relevance a half-decade post-retirement. But the Mannings are different. They’ve built a dynastic media presence, equal parts football brain trust, comedy duo, and QVC channel for NFL culture.

Call them retired. But if the receipts are any indication, Peyton and Eli aren’t going anywhere. They might have hung their cleats, but their brands are still strong, sprinting strongly.