Peyton Manning Says Tom Brady Apologized for Critical Email in Deflategate Suit

Tom Brady may not appear ready to apologize to the NFL for his potential role in Deflategate, but he did apologize to fellow star quarterback Peyton Manning for critical emails.

Jeff Legwold of ESPN.com reported that "Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning said an email exchange between New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and a friend that appeared to question how much longer Manning could play was 'no harm, no foul.'"

Some of Brady's emails were released in documents filed as part of the NFL Players Association's lawsuit on behalf of the New England quarterback. Brady wrote in one of them when referencing Manning, "I've got another 7 or 8 years. He has 2. That's the final chapter…Game on."

Manning took the high road when asked about it and even mixed in some humor with his response:

"

Everybody has been speculating on that for a long time, so I guess he's joining the list of trying to predict. Hey, Tom sent me an apology text that was unnecessary. The fact his emails got revealed, that doesn't make a lot of sense to me. …

No harm, no foul, I didn't think a lot of it. Somebody said I was roasted, I've been roasted before and that is not roasted. I haven't been on a Comedy Central roast, but I've been to a couple private dinners and banquets where I didn't know it was going to turn into a roast of me, but it did. I can promise you that email was amateur night compared to some of the things that were said about me.

"

Ed Werder of ESPN looked at the entire exchange from another perspective and pointed out the lack of privacy:

Manning is 39 years old, but he looked far from done for most of the 2014 campaign. Brady has bragging rights because of his Super Bowl victory last season, but the Broncos quarterback threw for 4,727 yards and 39 touchdown passes on his way to his 14th Pro Bowl.

He also holds the record for the most touchdown passes thrown in a career and is only one year older than Brady, despite the Patriots quarterback's claims that he has seven or eight years left compared to Manning's two. If nothing else, this could add another storyline to the equation if the two all-time greats meet in an AFC playoff game this season.

Even if Manning does only have a couple of years remaining in his final chapter, it has been one of the best careers in the history of the game.