Peyton Manning weighs in on Tom Brady's potential retirement

On The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Monday, two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning weighed in on Tom Brady’s rumored retirement. On Saturday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted a tweet saying that he’d been told by multiple sources that Brady was retiring, but Brady has yet to confirm or deny the report. While Manning could only speculate about when Brady will retire, he said it definitely will happen…eventually.

“I think he’ll make the announcement at the appropriate time. It might be tomorrow. It might be in April. It might not be until three years from now, he’s playing so well,” Manning said. “So I don’t imagine Tom’s too happy with the news this weekend, but I think he will announce it whenever, at the appropriate time on his own terms, as he should.”

Four years before Manning would win his second Super Bowl, he dealt with premature reports of his own retirement, and he hasn’t forgotten.

“In 2011 when I got injured with the Colts, there were a lot of rumors whether I was gonna come back and play or not,” Manning said, “Rob Lowe tweeted out that he knew first-hand I was about to retire and I had to call a press conference to actually say, you know, I always thought I would announce my retirement, not the guy who played Sodapop Curtis in The Outsiders. I feel like Tom is in that same boat a little bit.”

Video Transcript

JIMMY FALLON: What's your lead on this? Is he retiring? Is he not?

PEYTON MANNING: Yeah, I'm not sure I have the answer. But I think if Tom's going to retire, I feel like he'll announce it himself. That's kind of the process that I went through when I retired.

KYLIE MAR: Two-time Super Bowl champion Peyton Manning appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" Monday where he weighed in on the rumors surrounding Tom Brady's retirement. Over the weekend, ESPN'S Adam Schefter posted a tweet saying that Brady is retiring. However, Brady has pushed back on that report while still not fully denying it. But Manning said that Brady definitely will retire at some point.

PEYTON MANNING: It might be tomorrow. It might be in April. It might not be til three years from now. He's playing so well. So-

JIMMY FALLON: Yeah, exactly.

PEYTON MANNING: --I don't imagine Tom's too happy with the news this weekend, but I think he will announce it whenever-- at the appropriate time on his own terms, as he should.

KYLIE MAR: Four years before Manning won his second Super Bowl, he dealt with premature reports of his own retirement when actor Rob Lowe tweeted about it in early 2012, and Manning hasn't forgotten.

PEYTON MANNING: Rob Lowe tweeted out that he knew first hand that I was about to retire, and I had to call a press conference to actually say, you know, I always thought I would announce my retirement, not the guy that played Sodapop Curtis in "The Outsiders."

KYLIE MAR: Jimmy Fallon actually wasn't the first to ask Manning about Brady's possible retirement. Manning made a hilarious appearance on "Saturday Night Live" the night it was reported where he shared some thoughts on what Brady could do with more free time.

PEYTON MANNING: I think it's probably just speculation. But if it were me, I probably would retire if it gave me more time to watch "Emily in Paris." But I really think for Tom right now it's just a tough decision between balancing his career and relationships, sort of like Emily.