NFL author: Peyton Manning uncooperative, control freak, Tom Brady genuine

NFL writer Gary Myers had gone and ticked off Peyton Manning. The veins on his neck were bulging.

Denver had just been crushed 43-8 in the Super Bowl by Seattle in 2014. It was the largest margin of victory for an underdog and tied for the third largest point difference in the history of the NFL title game.

"Were you embarrassed by how you guys played?" Myers asked Manning after the game. He'd already been told by several Broncos teammates, including wide receiver Wes Welker, that they were very much embarrassed.

Manning was provoked.

"And you could see the veins in his neck pop up. And his face got all red," Myers said Tuesday on the Indianapolis sports radio show "Query & Schultz" on Fox Sports 97.5 FM. "And he goes, 'That is a terrible word. How can you say embarrassed? You look at those players and how hard they are taking this loss and you would never say anything like that.'"

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Myers felt berated for no reason. Still, he went up to Manning a bit later and apologized.

"Hey, maybe it was a bad choice of words. I didn't mean to get you all ticked off there," he told Manning.

He had an ulterior motive for that apology, though.

"The only reason I even went up to him and said that to him is because I had the interview (ahead) for my book and I didn't want to burn a bridge," he said. "Otherwise, I had nothing to apologize for."

It seems, though, Myers had already burned that bridge. He just didn't know it.

What he was about to write, "Brady vs Manning: The Untold Story of the Rivalry That Transformed the NFL," would be void of any substance from one of the main characters.

Brady, on the other hand, was wonderful, Myers said.

The interview with Brady happened as the New England quarterback drove from Gillette Stadium to downtown Boston where he was living at the time.

"That didn't appeal to me at first when they offered me that opportunity. How could he concentrate on giving me thoughtful answers as he is driving, especially a town like Boston at rush hour with all that traffic," Myers said. "He was terrific."

When the two arrived about a block from the hotel where Brady was to drop off Myers, instead of saying goodbye, Brady stopped.

"Tom just pulled over and said, 'You know, I want to ask you some questions now,'" Myers said.

How did you come up with this idea for the book? Who else are you going to interview? Have you spoken to Peyton? Do you want me to get ahold of Peyton to make sure he talks to you? When is the book coming out?

"He looked me right in the eye. He cared," Myers said. "It was obvious he was genuinely curious."

Manning, on the other hand, was quite the opposite. It took four months before the Broncos public relations guru, Patrick Smyth, was able to set up an interview for Myers with Manning.

"And the only reason I believe Peyton agreed to do it is because I had already interviewed Brady," Myers said. "And Patrick had told Peyton, 'You cannot let Tom have the only voice in this book. You have to talk to him.'"

Myers flew to Denver and was given 20 minutes in the hallway for the interview.

"I said, 'Peyton, hey let's just go sit down in the cafeteria. It's empty,'" Myers said.

Manning gave him a terse no to that request.

"After about 17 minutes, I can see him with his eye motion to Patrick, 'Cut this off,'" Myers said. "I have to admit I was completely blown away that he was so uncooperative after I had flown from New York to Denver."

Myers attributes that either to what happened after the Super Bowl in 2014, with the "are you embarrassed" questioned. Or to something that is whispered about in NFL circles.

"We know, he's kind of a control freak," Myers said. "And he was not going to be in control of my book writing project."

That book, published in 2016, is a New York Times bestseller.

"It turned out just fine," Myers said, even without Manning's cooperation.

Follow IndyStar sports reporter Dana Benbow on Twitter: @Dana Benbow. Reach her via e-mail: dbenbow@indystar.com.