Forget Disney World — where’s the beer?! Peyton Manning joked that his victory drink would be a Budweiser following Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, February 7. But the company — and always prominent Super Bowl night advertiser — insists that they never asked the NFL MVP to mention their beer.
A reason that might be? In 2014, Beer Business Daily reported that the New Orleans native, 39, owns a part of Budweiser’s distributorships in Louisiana.
Manning made the comment after his Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers 24 to 10 at Levi’s Stadium in the San Francisco Bay Area. The postgame interview was conducted by CBS‘ Tracy Wolfson. (He previously said he wanted a Bud Light during a 2014 press conference.)
“Peyton, is this your final game for your career?” Wolfson asked.
“You know, I’ll take some time to reflect,” Manning replied. “I got a couple of priorities first. I want to go kiss my wife and my kids. I want to go hug my family. I’m going to drink a lot of Budweiser tonight, Tracy. I promise you that.”
“So, I’m going to take care of those things first,” he continued. “And definitely going to say a little prayer and thank the man upstairs for this great opportunity. I’m just very grateful.”
Needless to say, Anheuser-Busch was ecstatic about the shout-out. Lisa Weser, head of marketing communications, tweeted about it afterward.
Hi Internet. For the record, Budweiser did not pay Peyton Manning to mention Budweiser tonight. We were surprised and delighted that he did.
— Lisa Weser (@LisaWeser) February 8, 2016
“Hi Internet. For the record, Budweiser did not pay Peyton Manning to mention Budweiser tonight,” she wrote. “We were surprised and delighted that he did.”
According to MarketWatch, Budweiser made $3.2 million after Manning’s name-drop on Sunday night.
Watch Manning’s chat in the video above!
