There have been a number of reports asserting that Peyton Manning has become obsessed with checking Tom Brady’s balls for pressure ahead of their big AFC Championship showdown – in possibly the last time the two legendary quarterbacks will face off.

Tom Brady was caught in the middle of a scandal last season after it was found that the majority of the Patriots’ balls were underinflated in the 2014 AFC Championship game – a game in which the New England Patriots beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-7. The Patriots then went on to win the Super Bowl 28-28 against then reigning champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Peyton Manning is said to have had a long telephone conversation with Colts’ owner Jim Irsay regarding Brady and the Patriots’ penchant for underhanded tactics.

Manning said this morning: ‘Yes, Jim phoned me to wish me luck today. We remain good friends in spite of him trading me in for a younger model. But there was no discussion of any details of today’s game or the Patriots.’

Despite this claim, Peyton has been seen sneaking around outside the Patriots’ equipment room by several New England staffers.

One staffer told us: ‘He thinks he’s being stealthy but he has a forehead like the backside of satellite dish so he’s pretty hard to miss. When I called him out he offered me $100 to feel Tom Brady’s balls. I told him I just don’t have that kind of access to Brady’s balls and he skulked off.’

Does Peyton have any more tricks up his sleeve or will Brady thwart him once again? It could all, once again, come down to the size of Tom Brady’s balls.