Tom Brady and Peyton Manning first played each other in 2001. No one then knew that it would become one of the greatest of all sports rivalries.
Brady ended up going 11-6 against Manning, who retired after the 2015 season, but three of Manning’s wins came in the AFC Championship Game. The two met four times in title games.
Five years after he retires, Brady will get his gold jacket and rightful place in Canton. Manning gets all that this weekend.
Brady will attend Manning’s enshrinement ceremony into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Sunday, flying to Canton, Ohio, on the Bucs’ day off from training camp, Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Class of 2021 also includes former Buccaneers and Broncos safety John Lynch, now the General Manager of the 49ers.
Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, Manning’s first quarterbacks coach with the Colts, and assistant Clyde Christensen, who coached receivers (2002-08) and was offensive coordinator (2009-11) and quarterbacks coach (2012-15) for Indianapolis, and Tom Moore, the Bucs offensive consultant and longtime Colts offensive coordinator, also are attending the enshrinement in Canton, according to Stroud.