10 Things NFL Fans Should Know About The Manning Family
It’s hard to think of the NFL and not think of one of the greats from the Manning family. It’s often considered to be one of the most dominant dynasties in the history of the sport. With four Super Bowl wins in the family, and a whole host of other impressive accolades, the entire family helped change the entire game of football as NFL fans know it.
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The family began its legacy of seriously impressive NFL play with the first generation player, Archie Manning, a man who also never won a Super Bowl. Archie then went on two father two of the most dominant players in the history of the sport, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning. With such a historic legacy, there's plenty to learn about the Manning family.
10 They Are One Of The Most Decorated Families In Any Sport
It’s impressive enough to be a decorated athlete on your own, but there definitely is a case to be made for the Manning family to be one of the most decorated families in the history of all competition. Most players are lucky to earn one Super Bowl appearance, but the Manning family has six appearances and four wins to their name.
Outside of the biggest game in the NFL, the family has an additional 5 NFL MVP awards, countless Pro Bowl selections, and even an induction into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame. Few families can claim that level of dominance in any sport, let alone football.
9 Cooper Manning’s Career Was Stopped Before It Began
While Eli Manning and Peyton Manning were able to have lengthy careers filled with incredible accolades, their brother Cooper had much worse luck. An unfortunate injury said to be spinal stenosis, would impact Cooper long before he ever reached the NFL.
It seemed that Cooper had a promising career to look forward to, and had even committed to a collegiate team, but once he was diagnosed with the condition, the safest call was to call it quits. Luckily, Cooper managed to have a great career off the field despite it all.
8 Peyton Wore His Brother’s Jersey Number
No one can ever say that the Manning family doesn’t care about one another. In one of the most touching gestures in the history of the sport, Peyton began to wear the jersey number 18, in honor of his injured older brother Cooper.
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Cooper likely wasn’t able to craft the legacy he wanted to, but Peyton was able to bring a piece of his brother with him on the field every time he played. The high school that the boys went to has since retired the jersey number in order to honor the legacy of the family.
7 Eli And Peyton Were Both Picked 1st Overall
Another accomplishment that’s already impressive enough for one person is to be the number one draft pick in the entirety of the NFL, it's a whole other thing to have two members of the same family earn that distinction in separate years.
Peyton Manning managed to wind up as the first pick of the 1998 NFL Draft while Eli was the first pick of the 2004 NFL Draft. A brief look at their college records makes it clear exactly why both men were the hottest picks in the NFL at the time.
6 Archie Was Often Considered Above His Teams
The first-generation NFL player, Archie Manning can sometimes be forgotten about thanks to just how impressive his sons were. Archie was no slouch on the field by any means, and in fact, he was often considered to be far above his teams in terms of overall ability throughout his career.
Having played primarily for the Saints throughout his career, he also played for the Minnesota Vikings, and the Houston Oilers, toward the end of his career. His teams never found great success, but Archie pretty much always managed to impress fans with his abilities.
5 Archie Never Played In A Playoff Game
It’s almost difficult to imagine a Manning not playing in a few playoff games throughout their career, but despite Archie’s high level of play, he never once made it to the NFL playoffs. He did play in the Pro Bowl on different occasions, but that is his biggest claim to fame.
Luckily, both Eli and Peyton were able to end the bad luck Archie had with their numerous playoff appearances, and of course all their Super Bowl appearances and wins. Archie doesn’t seem too miffed about his situation, and it’s not hard to see why thanks to his boys.
4 Eli Never Missed A Game Due To Injury
There are a few things that are incredibly common in the NFL and in football in general. One of the most common things being, injuries. The issue with NFL injuries is that they are often rather serious, and can require quite a while to properly recover.
With all that said, Eli Manning has been said to have never missed a single game throughout his career due to injury. Whether his body is just tougher than most people, or if he simply managed to always have luck on his side, going his entire career without missing a game to injury is pretty impressive.
3 Eli Refused To Play For The Team That Drafted Him
Going as the number one draft pick is always an honor, but it can have serious drawbacks. Being in such high demand often means excellent players are often taken by poor teams or teams that may have their fair share of glaring issues.
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That was the unfortunate case for Eli when the Chargers were looking to draft him. Due to stories he’d heard from one of their players, both Eli and his father voiced their displeasure at the idea of joining the team. Luckily, the Giants stepped in with a big deal that landed them Eli after the initial draft.
2 They Will Likely Be A 3 Generation NFL Family Soon
Archie Manning began the family’s run in the NFL, and he is often regarded as a player who was ahead of his time. His play was almost always at the highest level possible, even when his team wasn’t able to match his level of impact on the field.
His sons Eli and Peyton managed to craft even more impressive legacies with their time in the league, and it seems that their other brother Cooper has a boy who has a promising future ahead of him. Only having committed to a collegiate team, Arch might be the third generation of the Manning family to play in the NFL one day soon.
1 An Accusation Could Have Made Peyton’s Career Go Quite Differently
There was a point and time in Peyton Manning’s football life that could have ended very differently had the incident occurred today. While he was in his collegiate phase back in 1996, Peyton was accused of sexual misconduct.
The story is rather shocking to hear, and the various other issues tied into the incident are just as shocking. It was a serious situation and was handled, but it probably is fair to say it would have been a bit more seriously these days. Luckily for Manning, he managed to go on to a fruitful career.
