Peyton sent handwritten letter to Brady after retirement announcement

While many athletes took to social media to congratulate Tom Brady on his recent retirement, Peyton Manning decided to do it the old-fashioned way by writing him a letter.

Manning told People's Sonal Dutt that he felt Brady's monumental announcement deserved more than just a text message.

"That's something I've always believed in. A text for a 22-year career like Tom Brady's just doesn't quite do it justice," Manning said. "So, it was a chance to just sit down and put pen to paper and talk about some of the different things he and I have experienced together - on the field and off the field - and just congratulate him for doing it the right way, doing it at the highest level, and doing it for such a long time. It's simply awesome.

"You know, my greatest takeaway from my years of playing were the relationships I made, and the friendships with my teammates and coaches and even competitors, like Tom. He and I have a great friendship and I'm honored to have that."

The two quarterbacks faced each other 17 times over the course of their careers, with Brady holding an 11-6 edge. They also went head-to-head in The Match: Champions for Charity golf event in 2020, in which Manning won alongside Tiger Woods.