The Manning Way · 1-on-1 with Cooper Manning

Sports are serious business.

On Under the Number, Brent Peus goes deep with the leaders driving the Sports Economy, from elite athletes and investors to visionary founders and executives.

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This conversation with Cooper is a UTN Replay, originally published on May 27, 2025.

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The Connection:

My mom grew up just two blocks from the Mannings in New Orleans’ Garden District. Though she was a few grades ahead of Cooper, they overlapped at Isidore Newman School in the 1980s. My grandparents have been friends with Archie and Olivia Manning for decades, and I’ve had the chance to chat with Archie, Cooper, Peyton, and Eli at various events over the years, mostly in NOLA.

As Cooper references in the episode, my mom asked him to come on the pod while they were attending a parents’ weekend crawfish boil at UVA. His daughter, May, was classmates with my brothers at Virginia.

I was a completely obsessed Manning fan growing up. For Christmas in 2007, my aunt gave me a Super Bowl XLI hat that was autographed by Peyton Manning and I cried real tears of joy.

I attended Manning Passing Academy as a 14 year old in the summer of 2012

Quote of the Episode:

“At the end of the day…if you play well, you have more [business] opportunity. But I think anybody who’s trying to worry about the opportunities—other than the craft itself—probably has their priorities out of line. It’s all about what happens inside the dome, you know? . . . I wouldn’t recommend any football players get too worked up about these side gigs—work on the 3-step drop.”

Bet You Didn’t Know:

Cooper was an all-state high school wide receiver for Isidore Newman School (catching passes from his brother Peyton) in New Orleans, LA. Newman did not have another 1,000-yard receiver until Odell Beckham Jr.