Peyton Manning's signature “Omaha” call at the line of scrimmage might be completely based on a lie. His younger brother, Eli, recently divulged that he used the word as part of his offense’s language way before Peyton did—but he also got it from someone else.
“First off, I think we gotta set the record straight,” Eli said. “I used Omaha way before Peyton ever used it. He stole it, he stole it.”
Manning went on to say it was in the Giants playbook and it was incorporated his rookie year in 2004 when the offensive coordinator at the time, John Hufnagel, came over from New England. Yes, Hufnagel was Tom Brady’s quarterback coach in 2003 and brought the language from there.
So in theory, Peyton’s signature word originated from his arch-rival.
.@EliManning sets the record straight that he actually used the audible call "Omaha" WAY before his brother Peyton. And admits that he technically stole it from @TomBrady.
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) November 9, 2023
Eli's full appearance: https://t.co/9jEv1ojNJG pic.twitter.com/SXXEJoMph4
Eli went on to explain that fans never took note of the word until around 2015 when Peyton was with the Broncos and fans could hear what was being said at the line of scrimmage thanks to more mics being on quarterbacks. Peyton has since used the word to his full advantage in terms of marketing, even naming his entertainment company Omaha Productions.
Both Brady and Eli might be in line for some compensation, it seems.
