(upbeat music) - All right, welcome to another episode of Curious Mike. I'm here with Peyton Manning. Man, it's an honor to have you on here, bro. I think I told you this when we met at the arena, that I grew up in Indiana. So before basketball, I was playing football as well, playing quarterback.

So, you know, you were a big part of my childhood. So it's an honor to have you on here, bro. - I appreciate it, honored to be here. - Man, a lot of people know you from, you know, being on the court. We actually, I saw you at our arena playing with your kids, you know what I mean?

Just shooting around with them. So kind of update us where you are now. What are you doing now off the field and everything like that? - You know, kind of the second chapter for me, I've tried to kind of pick, say maybe kind of one thing to kind of focus on that year.

And then maybe you keep doing it if you like it, or maybe you change it up. I haven't really had like this five or 10 year plan. You know, when you're playing like football, basketball, you pretty much know where you're gonna be every day, all year, right? And that's the biggest change about this next chapter.

But I didn't want to sign up for something to be a broadcaster, to be a coach, where I knew that's what I was doing for the next five, 10 years. I've just kind of taken it one year at a time. Don't really have a one word job description. I'm the assistant offensive coordinator on my son's sixth grade football team.

That's a very important role. I'm not qualified to be the head coach, so I'm just the assistant coach. Yeah, I do some stuff in the TV space. Eli and I obviously do this Monday night show. I do it from Denver, he does it from New Jersey. I feel like my kids, Ashley and the kids, that's my number one priority.

But I like staying busy. I like staying stimulated. I like my kids seeing me busy, seeing me working, right? That's important to me. And still get to a lot of sporting events, get to the Nuggets games, get to the Broncos games. So I'm busy, but I'm kind of busy on my own schedule, which is a good thing.

- Right. So a lot of athletes that I know of, once they retire, they kind of have sometimes like a identity crisis or a midlife crisis. Did you at all deal with that, or how did you work your way through that time going from stardom to kind of being away from the spotlight?

Was it hard for you at all? - There's no doubt it's an adjustment, right? Just going back to that earlier point. Football, you have a schedule all season, all off season, all of a sudden that stops. The thing, I was fortunate, I got to play football for a long time, and I really got to kind of end it on my terms, which doesn't often happen, right?

A lot of times in sports, you don't get to retire, you're kind of retired, right? Nobody calls you anymore and says, we want you to come play for the Broncos or the Nuggets. So I was grateful for the time that I got to play. And so, look, you're always going to miss your teammates.

And around playoff time, Super Bowl time, you always miss it a little bit. Then I heard Derrick Jeter say one time after he retired, great shortstop for the Yankees, he said, if I could parachute into the World Series every year, sure. I'd probably like to do that. - But it's the grind.

- He didn't miss spring training, he didn't miss all that. And so I don't miss it either because I got to do it for a long time, but stay in touch with my teammates on a text thread. You certainly miss seeing them every day. You miss the locker room, you miss the plane rides.

So I was just grateful for the time that I had. So I guess in the second chapter, I didn't really look for that. I didn't miss being on the field because I was grateful for the time that I got to do it. Our kids had just maybe turned five years old at the time, so they're getting into school.

That was a nice kind of timing to kind of be able to sort of dive into their lives and everything. And so it's been a pretty good transition and I still go to a ton of games. I went to four University of Tennessee games last year, all the Broncos home games, went to a couple of Colts games.

So I still find myself kind of hanging around football. - How long do you think you could have played? Like if it was, like you said, if you could parachute into the finals right now, you would, but how many more seasons do you think you could have played? - I don't know.

I think everybody could probably always have played one more. How well are you going to play is probably a fair question. So I never really looked at it that way. Like I said, I got to play 14 years in Indianapolis, four great years here in Denver, still live here.

- Wait, it was that many years in Indy? - 14 in Indy, yeah. Does that make sense? - I did not realize that. - So how old were you when I was playing for the Colts? - So yeah, like I said, I was born in Indy and a lot of people think that I was born in Missouri, but I really was born in Indy and I was there till fifth grade.

- What years were you? - What do you think? How many, what do you think that was? 2010. - Okay. - Okay, so like my whole childhood was Indy. I remember they built the Lucas Oil Stadium. - There you go. - I remember all that. - There you go, I like it.

- I remember Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne. And honestly, like I was a big football fan growing up. You know, I paid attention to all y'all's games when we moved to Missouri, 'cause we were in Columbia, Missouri. So the Rams were over here, then you got the Chiefs over here.

I really didn't pick up on any teams, so kinda like my love for football kinda like went away. - Oh, it did, okay. - It went away. Like I paid attention to the Colts a little bit, but like I wasn't in the city, so it didn't-- - Yeah, when there's not a team in your town.

- Yeah, so it was hard, but-- - Yeah, so no, it was, like I said, I was grateful for the time that I got to play two different places. And I just felt like after we just won the Super Bowl, it just felt like it was the right time to stop playing.

I dealt with some injuries. Possibly might've had to go find another team to play for. The Broncos had some quarterback personnel decisions to make and didn't really wanna go through that process again necessarily. So it just felt like the right time, and I've been at peace with it ever since.

- I did not realize it was 18 years that you played. How do you feel like your purpose kinda shifted? Like, I feel like even me now in the NBA kinda like so much of your focus goes to your sport. For you, football, for me, basketball. How do you feel like your purpose and just life in general changed from when you were playing to now, what you're doing now?

- Yeah, I mean obviously, being a good dad is kinda my number one priority. Being a part of our kids' lives is important for Ashley. And my parents, my dad specifically, after he retired from football, he was present in our lives, right? He was at our little league basketball games and baseball games and never coached us per se, but he'd come and throw passes with us on the weekends.

And so that was important to me. So that's kinda been my number one priority. I mean, I'll be at a baseball game this weekend, I'll be at a volleyball game this weekend, right? And so I didn't wanna sign up for anything that was gonna take me away from that.

For the majority of my football time, our kids either weren't born or were quite young. So I didn't have that potential decision to make, hey, am I gonna go to their youth football game or am I gonna go study some film? And so it was nice not to have to choose, right?

I wanted to be a great dad, I wanted to be a great football player at the same time. And so we sort of waited for that reason. - Look, I enjoy being an ambassador for the game. I enjoy being a resource to young quarterbacks. I saw just this past weekend, Josh Allen and Justin Herbert, and I have their phone numbers.

And I mean, anytime they wanna reach out to me with a question, those guys kinda have it figured out. They don't need a lot of my help, but I like being able to pay it forward because a lot of people helped me when I was a young player. And of course my dad had played, but guys like Troy Aikman, Dan Marino, they gave me some tips and pointers when I was a young player.

So I feel like that's a kind of a cool hat to wear, a little bit of a purpose there. Do you feel like you're still a part of the game, not on the field, but you're still helping to grow the game and helping young football players? - 100%, so how did you meet your wife?

You said her name's Ashley? - Yeah, we met in college, yeah. - How'd you know she was the one? - So, you know, we met at, she didn't go to Tennessee. She went to the University of Virginia, and we met there when I was a freshman and kind of agreed to have a kind of a date later in the year, and just kind of went from there.

You know, dated all through college. - Honestly, I say that all the time. Like it's ideal to meet the girl earlier on. Like you met her in college, you said, before everything. - Right, yeah. - That's the problem nowadays is like you make it, and then it's hard to figure out and navigate that.

- I get that, yeah. No, there's no doubt everything's changed a lot. You know, look, I grew up college football the majority of my first years in the NFL before social media, you know, so you didn't have all the different opinions, right, and comments, and look, it can affect players, right?

They read comments, and it affects, you know, kind of how they feel sometimes about their playing time or the coaches or whatnot, so it was a nice way to play, you know, for the majority of my career, kind of without that, because it certainly can be a challenge if you don't handle-- - The social media?

- If you don't handle it well. - How do you think, yeah, like, do you feel like if social media was a big thing back then, that would have affected you at all on the field, like the different comments, pressures, or did you somehow kind of like-- - Yeah, no, I mean, look, you know, playing in Indianapolis, you know, you grew up there, look, it's not the biggest market, but the media is into it, right?

The fans are into it, but then like my brother Eli goes to play in New York, and that's like, you know, times 25, and so Eli was the one that kind of helped me with that, and he kind of, he said, look, Peyton, like I used to read the paper after we won, right?

You know, everybody likes to read, you know-- - 100%, look up their name on Twitter-- - They're saying good things about you, right? But then when, if it didn't go well, you know, I wouldn't read it, and Eli's like, what I've learned here in New York is like, like you don't read it at all, you know, you don't read the good, you don't read the bad, and you just stay even keeled, right?

And it just keeps you from going on this roller coaster, right, of, you know, emotional, you know, mood swings and frustrations or whatnot, right? Ultimately, as a player, I think the ultimate question is, are you doing the job that you're supposed to do for your coach, right? I mean, really, anybody else's opinion outside of that really shouldn't factor in to how you're feeling.

I always felt like I was my own biggest critic, right? If a reporter, you know, criticized me for my play, it probably wasn't gonna be as rough as I was already on myself. So I didn't feel like that affected me too much, but I think that there's something about trying to stay even keeled, kind of block out the outside noise, especially as you get into big games and playoff games, hey, let me just focus in on what I need to do, and especially what I need to do for my team.

- 100%. How was it growing up with your brothers, Eli, and then you had an older brother, too, who-- - Yeah, Cooper, yeah. - Yeah, how was it growing up with them, and how good would your older brother have been if he didn't have the injuries he had? - Cooper was an outstanding athlete with the Ole Miss.

As a wide receiver on scholarship, we played together in high school one year. That was a lot of fun. You grew up playing in the backyard with your brother, drawing plays in the dirt. Now you get to play on a real football field with him. So I had a neck injury there when he was in two-a-days at Ole Miss, his freshman year.

Had to give up his career. That was tough. He handled it extremely well. It had a big impact on me. Life when I went through my injuries, just Cooper handled it with grace. He had a good attitude about it. - He's a doctor now, right? - So, no, I am not gonna tell him that you actually thought he was a doctor, 'cause he probably thinks he could do that as well.

No, Cooper's doing very good. He's got a great family. Been very successful in business, and he just, he handled it, right? So it was a fun way to grow up, having two brothers. You got an older brother to kinda look up to and kinda help me out, and then Eli was five years younger than me, so it was a fun way to grow up.

- Did you guys have any, I have four brothers, four younger brothers. Did you guys have any fights growing up? - Yeah, I mean, Eli was probably too young to kinda be able to play one-on-one basketball growing up as kids. Cooper and I certainly went at it a little more, but we always try to get along kind of in the end and kinda have each other's backs, which I think's a good thing to do with your siblings.

- Yeah, 100%. Man, so one thing that I've always admired about you is just your leadership qualities. You can see it on the floor, you hear about it, it's something that's always, when you talk about Peyton Manning, it's his leadership. What are the leadership qualities you feel like you kinda possessed, and how did you kinda get to the point where you could execute those?

- Yeah, I mean, I think being a leader, look, just because you're the point guard or the quarterback doesn't automatically make you the leader, right? I think you gotta earn kinda being a leader. And so I kinda learned the hard way in college. First time I got in the huddle, I kinda went in with this rah-rah speech, and a bunch of seniors are just like, "Hey, don't talk, just call the play.

"It's all we're gonna do." And so you kinda learn that. It was a pretty good lesson that you wanna earn, I think, the respect of the people that you're trying to lead, right, before you start barking orders and telling 'em what to do. I think the other thing I do, at least I thought I tried to do a good job of, is I was tough on myself.

I was vocal about that, right? If I missed a throw, I would kinda say it out loud, like, "Hey, that's a bad throw, that's a horrible decision. "No excuse." And so I think when my teammates heard that I was tough on myself, that if I was told them, "Hey, look, this route needs to be 16 yards, right?

"You're going 14, it needs to be," that it was all fair, right? I wasn't picking on anybody, 'cause I was hard on myself, and I just believed in getting the little things right, that the little details mattered in a football game, that 14 yards was different than 16 yards.

It might be the difference in the incompletion or an interception. So I felt like I put the work in. I wasn't gonna ask anybody to do anything that I wasn't already doing myself. And so, and I felt like I admitted when I made a mistake, threw an interception. I thought, I tried to be accountable.

So I think those are some of the best things a leader can do is letting everybody know, "Hey, I'm riding this thing with you." - Right, accountability. - Yeah, absolutely. - There's a picture of you with your foot, like you've been in a hot tub or a cold tub, you got your helmet on, you're watching something.

Talk about that, because I mean, obviously you're a detailed person. I think you were injured at that time. - Right, yeah. - And I wanna know the backstory on that picture. - Yeah, I guess it's the all-time multi-tasker. You know, when you're hurt, it's tough, 'cause a lot of times the best time to rehab is like during practice, right?

You know, you have kind of one-on-one time in the athletic training room. And so, the team was out practicing, and the quarterbacks have an earpiece in their helmets where the coach calls the play into the helmet. And so, I wanted to be at practice, but I had to do some, yeah, I had kind of foot problems.

I was doing cold and ice tub on my foot, so I had my helmet on, where I could still hear the plays being called. I could kind of visualize the play, and I had my iPad where I was studying some film of the team. So, yeah, multi-tasking, and camera caught me.

- When I think of intentionality and focus, and in the basketball space, you think of Kobe. You know, you think of just his intentional detail, and then in football, I think of you. Was that, besides that level of intentionality, what else do you think separated you kind of from the rest of, you know, quarterbacks, but just players in general?

Like, what was the main things that set you apart? - Yeah, you know, it's kind of always been, I feel like that's kind of hard for me to answer. You know, I always felt like sometimes when a teammate that played with you also went and played for other teams, you know, they could give a comparison, right?

So, I never knew if I was doing anything different, you know, than anybody else. Look, I took, I had great respect and appreciation for the cerebral part of the game. You know, I wasn't gonna outrun anybody or throw it, you know, 80 yards down the field, so I felt like I had to out-prepare 'em, and I felt like the film study, the communication with my receivers, being a, just having the master knowledge of the playbook, that really helped me, right?

So, when I got out there on Sundays, or Saturdays in college, or Friday nights in high school, I felt like I'd kind of out-prepared the opponent, whether I had or I hadn't, I kind of told myself that, hey, nobody has worked harder for me to get ready for this game.

That just gave me a little more confidence out there on Sundays. And look, the game of football moves so fast, so I don't care how fast you are, how strong your arm is, if you don't understand everything about what you're doing as an offense, and also understand what the defense is doing, it moves even faster.

So, that's kind of where I felt like I could get an edge on the competition. Yeah, just the mental side of it. I felt like I played, you mentioned those guys, Marvin Harrison, Reggie Wayne, like I played with a lot of the same guys for a number of years, right?

So we had good continuity, we weren't startin' over. I played in the same offensive system, pretty much the same every single year. Denver had changed here a little bit, but Tom Brady played in the same system in New England all those years. I mean, when you're having to change plays for a quarterback every single year, that's hard, that's tough.

And so, I was fortunate, I had a great support system, great coaches to help me, and players, we played together for a while. So I think all those things kinda helped. - So routine-wise, specifically, obviously you've got your game day routine, we have our game day routines. I feel like the off days sometimes are the days where you can gain that extra ground.

What would that specifically look like? Like how much film and how much of that mental work, I don't know if it was meditation, film work, or whatever it was, were you actually doing? - Yeah, it's been seven years now, so you're making me go back to, I probably don't have the exact itinerary of what I used to do on Tuesdays, but there's no doubt that I was trying to use Tuesdays, which is the universal off day in the NFL, to try to get ahead, right?

And so I was a big believer in watching kind of the game film opponents, like their past four games, I was gonna watch those four games and get a good feel for kinda who that team was and what their identity was on defense. And then with the coaches, you watch kinda different film.

I watched a lot of film myself, right? I mean, I watched practice hard, watched the game hard, watched, we filmed all the individual drills, right? I think sometimes you get caught up into, hey, let's try to figure out these great plays to run, that we're getting ready to play this team, and all of a sudden, your mechanics are off, you're not finishing your throw, you're not finishing your shot, and so it doesn't matter if the play is great if you're not doing your deal.

So I'm studying a lot of that. I think, and you get into that routine, I mean, I think your question is great. I think it's important to have a routine, right? And to kinda write down what that routine is and not just sort of wing it every single day.

- Honestly, like for the majority of my life, that's kinda how I've lived, like kinda just like free flow throughout the day, and then I've recently understood the importance of just intentionality. Like you said, writing down the routine, waking up at this time, what are you doing at this time?

And you still are a very intentional person. Like I'll hit you, I'll text you, like when can we talk? You'll be like, next Sunday at 11 a.m., like I'll be like-- - 11.03 to be specific, yeah. - Do you still live with that same intentionality? And why is that?

- Yeah, that drives my family crazy, just so you know. So I probably could do a little better on that, of being a little more free flowing in this second chapter. But I think it's just like playing football those years, I mean, that's how you just kinda get wired, that you, like an eight o'clock meeting means it's gonna be an eight o'clock meeting, right?

I mean, football, you do not wanna walk into a meeting at 8.02, 'cause that's late, and everybody's in there. So you kinda learn that, so you kinda get on time, and you get a schedule. So I feel like it serves you well for the most part. Like I said, it can probably annoy your family, and annoy your friends on a golf trip, when, I said specifically we're gonna have breakfast at 7.07, right?

That's probably a little much, but look, I think just trying to be, goes back to that routine, I think it helps when you kinda have a plan. - I agree. I'm super curious about your second Super Bowl with Denver. That was after your injuries, correct? - Correct. - And obviously I've had my own injuries, so I look at that, and I'm like, he made it all the way back to Super Bowl status.

Post injuries, was there a lot of limitations in your arm, and how did you kinda work through that? You said Eli, Cooper, you said helped you. - Yeah, well, just the fact that, I think when you go through an injury, go through a tough time, I think having a good attitude is important.

And that's easier said than done, right? I mean, you're not gonna be super happy that you're hurt, and you're not playing, but there's a reason it happened, and it's kind of a test, you know? Are you gonna handle that test? Are you gonna pass that test? So I try to have an upbeat attitude.

I think that probably helped in kinda getting over those injuries, and kinda healing a little bit, that I was, you know, I had a lot of people help me, teammates supporting me, that made a difference. But I think you just learn that you can't, you know, maybe do certain things that you used to do, but you can adjust and still figure out how to do it, I think is kinda the key.

So, you know, I was fortunate to come here and play, and like I said, have four years, and still continue to deal with some other injuries. You know, when I got here, and had great teammates and coaches, but, you know, I think being, learning to adapt to post-injuries is important.

- 100%. You say you feel like there was a reason for it, and I feel like a lot of people, when things happen to them, they can't figure it out. They don't even just, they don't have that faith that there was a reason. Do you have like a faith, just like in that aspect?

Do you, you know? - Sure, no, certainly not. I think it's a great test of your faith, and I felt like when I went through my injuries, look, I was frustrated, I was disappointed, but I felt like it was a good Lord's plan that, hey, you know, you're next gonna have some problems, and you're not gonna play this year.

And so, it's a test, it's a test of your faith, you know, and to see if you can kinda trust that it's His plan, and kinda a little bit outta your hands. So, I definitely think that's a part of it, and look, you know, overcoming adversity, overcoming tough times, if you play sports long enough, you know, that's gonna happen, and you better learn to do it.

And I think having people around you to help you overcome it, you know, is also important. But I think, you know, praying about it, and kinda trusting in the man upstairs, His plan is probably the best way to overcome it. - Have you always had that faith in God?

Like, what are you, Christian? Christian, you've always had that? - Yeah, yeah. - Sure. - So, man, my last question for you is, like I said, like you're an idol of mine, Kobe, some of these great, Michael Jordan, what is your way of defining greatness? How would you define it?

'Cause everyone doesn't have the physical capabilities to be the best. - Yeah. - How would you define it? - I don't know, I, you know, probably never really thought about that as much, and, you know, I think you just, I always tried to be, you know, football, I always liked team sports, right?

I played basketball, I played golf with my buddies, but never, you know, competed in golf, but I always thought, like you kinda had an obligation, if you signed up for the team, to do everything you could to help the team and be your best for the team, right? And I think that's what always just kinda drove me, that I knew people were counting on me, right?

I mean, in football, that's your teammates, that's your coaches, look, that's the support staff, you know, the equipment managers, the video directors, you know, when, if you don't play well and they fire the coach, a lot of times they fire, you know, a lot of people along with that, right?

So, yeah, I'm not saying people's jobs were counting on me, but I think, you know, people were counting on me, fans, right, they're invested into the team, you know, and the owner who drafted you, I mean, you wanna, I mean, you wanna, the draft's coming up in the NFL, and I remember when the coach drafted me, I wanted to give our owner, you know, I wanted to make him proud of his decision to draft me, right, it's a, when they draft you, it's not really a reward, it's kind of a, hey, we're gonna bring you to the team, we expect you to do some things for us, right?

And I think that's a good mentality, and so, I guess that's what I thought about, so I never used the word greatness in describing myself or was necessarily thinking about that, I was just thinking about, I wanted to do my part, right, you know, for the team, and I think that's why I worked really hard to try to do that, and whatever came along with that, you know, it wasn't all perfect, we had certainly disappointing losses and, you know, heartbreaking moments, but I think you're, you kind of learn how to handle that, and maybe you come out of it stronger on the other side.

- Well, man, I appreciate you, bro, like I said, it means a lot that you would even make the time to come over here and do this with me, yeah, I appreciate you getting on the podcast, my man. - Hey, you bet, thanks for having me, good luck in the playoffs.

- Appreciate you, appreciate you. That's a wrap. ♪ The names of P.J. ♪ - Go watch three plays and get Peyton Manning's perspective on these plays. - If I remember, yeah, that's a-- - It's a minute, it's definitely a minute ago. All right, let's go. - I do remember that play, that was the first play of the game.

I was down in New Orleans, we lost that game. We got Marcus Pollard, who was a good teammate of mine, good buddy of mine, but, you know, you don't throw many touchdowns on the first play of the game. Usually, you call it a play to try to get a completion, right, and just kind of had the perfect play at the perfect time, called, and he took it for 80 yards, so.

- 80 yards, first play of the game. - Yeah, exactly. This was against Baltimore. This is an interesting scenario, that Baltimore had won the Super Bowl the year before, and they didn't get to open up at home because of like a scheduling conflict with their baseball team in town.

So they had to come-- - Yeah, I was smacking them. - They had to open their, defend their title here in Denver, and so, which probably wasn't fair, but yeah, that was just a go-route to Demarius Thomas, who, God rest his soul, we lost last year. He was my good buddy, and that wasn't, that's more on him than me, Mike.

That's just throwing it up to him and letting him, letting him do his thing. - Was he tall? Was he tall? - Yeah, he was a big guy, for sure. - We're all the way at 49. We need to go to the top. - Yeah, these are outdated now.

This is at the time to break the all-time touchdown record. I think Breeze and Brady have broken that record several times since then, so. - Oh, really? - But at the time, Brett Favre had the all-time touchdown record, and so, that pass was to break it, but what I liked about it is that we won the game.

You know, we weren't doing anything just to try to build a record, right? - Did that get tipped? - Kind of a close game. No, I threw a lot of wobbly passes, Mike. - Oh, did you? - It just looked like they got tipped, but I appreciate you asking that.

No, so that was cool, yeah. I mean, it was still in the second quarter, so we broke the record and kind of got that over with, and went on to win the game, but I love quarterbacks. Yeah, they played keep-away with me from the football afterwards, so. This is in the Super Bowl.

This was against the Bears, and the Bears actually kind of screwed up the coverage. He was pretty open. It was a matter of kind of getting to him, so. Down in the rain, down in Miami, so that's always a fun one to watch. It was, you know, first championship for the Colts, so it was fun to be a part of that.

First championship for Indianapolis, so it was fun to be a part of that. - Dope, man, appreciate you. Legendary, top 50 legendary players. Appreciate you, my guy. - You got it, man, appreciate it. Thanks for having me. All right, man, all the best.