Tom Brady and Peyton Manning shared perhaps one of the most legendary rivalries ever played out in the NFL. Two of the best in their business slogged it out for years to be the better QB.

While Brady had the last laugh when it came to head-to-head wins, Manning takes the cake for edging out Brady in terms of playoff wins.

But despite their rivalry, the two always shared a mutual sense of respect and admiration for each other. And that was on full display when Tom Brady went all the way to Canton, Ohio to attend Manning’s induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In a stellar display of sportsmanship, Brady showed the level of respect he had for the quarterback who challenged his supremacy for yeas in the NFL.

And Brady’s gesture ended up reminding former NFL tight end Shannon Sharpe about the relationship that NBA legends Larry Bird and Magic Johnson shared.

Tom Brady had to be there for Peyton Manning

During a segment of Undisputed, NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe talked about Tom Brady’s presence at Manning’s induction into the NFL immortality.

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“Brady had to be there. I don’t know if we’ll ever see this again. Two guys, normally if you come into the same draft class, you’re linked together like Peyton Manning with Ryan Leaf. Marino and Elway because they were from the same draft class. But we’ve never seen anything like this. Two quarterbacks, different teams,” said Sharpe.

Sharpe further went on to compare the relationship between the two to that of NBA legends Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. The shared a rivalry for the ages, but upon retirement, both had nothing but admiration and respect for each other.

“It’s like Bird-Magic. That’s what it is. Can you imagine Bird not being there for Magic and Magic not being there for Bird? Even though they retired apart Magic tried to petition so they could go in together into the Hall of Fame.” 

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Brady brought out the best in Peyton Manning and Manning the best out of Brady. Had eithers paths not intertwined, perhaps the wouldn’t have had the stellar careers they had. After all, to strive to be the best, you must beat the best.