Peyton Manning Was 'Surprised' Tom Brady Signed Contract with Bucs

Peyton Manning was apparently among the many who were surprised when Tom Brady left the New England Patriots for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this offseason.

"That was interesting," Manning said Sunday on SportsCenter. "I've talked to Tom at different times, but never really about that actual decision. He seems happy, he seems excited. I'm a little surprised he jumped over to the NFC. I always see Tom Brady as an AFC guy, so he's going to have to go through initiation to learn the ropes of the NFC."

When Manning left the Indianapolis Colts after 13 years, he stayed in the conference with the Denver Broncos.

The 44-year-old also noted his familiarity with Brady's new staff:

"They got a great team around him, it sounds like. Bruce Arians was my quarterbacks coach in that rookie season and my first few years in the NFL. Tom Moore, my offensive coordinator, is down there, Clyde Christensen. So, Tom is going down there to get coached by some guys who I'm very familiar with, guys that know football, that love football. Everybody knows how hard he's going to work."

Bruce Arians—who spent three years as Manning's quarterback coach in Indianapolis—is going into his second year as head coach of the Buccaneers.

In addition to the veteran coaching staff, Brady will also have a lot of on-field talent around him, including Pro Bowl receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.

Still, the free-agent addition won't necessarily clinch a division championship for Tampa Bay in 2020.

"He's got a tough division," Manning added. "I don't think the Saints and the Falcons and the Panthers are going to just let the Bucs kind of roll into town, so it should make for some interesting divisional games and matchups."

The Buccaneers haven't made the playoffs since 2007, and their last postseason win was the Super Bowl after the 2002 season.

Conversely, Brady is much more used to success with six Super Bowl titles. His Patriots have won a division title in 16 of the last 17 years, with the only exception coming when the quarterback tore his ACL in Week 1 of 2008.

The 42-year-old will now try to match Manning's resume with a title for two different teams.