There’s that climax in “The Princess Bride” when Inigo Montoya, who has trained all of his life to defeat the mysterious six-fingered man who killed his father, does just that. And the swordsman, no longer in the “revenge business,” realizes his life mission is finished, and he has nothing more to accomplish.

Tom Brady understands the predicament.

For 15 years, the Patriots and Colts (and later Broncos) waged wars set on a football field, a game of one-upmanship between two iconic quarterbacks. With Peyton Manning going out on top, winner of Super Bowl 50 and set to officially announce his retirement on Monday, the battles have ended. Manning exits with a 3-2 playoff record against Brady in some all-time classic matchups.

“That part sucks,” Brady told Sports Illustrated’s The MMQB, when asked what it’ll be like now that he won’t share a league with Manning for the first time in his pro career. “That part really sucks. That part will always suck.”

A contemplative Brady opened up about his friend and nemesis, saying he didn’t know how the ultimate competitor would scratch that competitive itch anymore. For 18 NFL seasons, Manning, 39, never eased off the gas pedal, always eyeing any advantage he could to win football games. That edge will not have any outlet from now on.

“The way he played football, and the way he was consumed by football, all the mental energy he had to use, and I mean every day of the year you’re thinking about it—imagine what he must feel like with all that pressure off,” said Brady, himself 38. “Twelve months a year, the time commitment, the mental commitment, I can tell you it never leaves you. You are constantly trying to be better, constantly striving to learn more. Think about how long he’s been a great quarterback. For Peyton, the pressure’s probably off for the first time in his life. Imagine how that feels.”

It’s an end of sorts for Brady, too. One of the greatest rivalries the NFL has seen is finished, and Brady’s obsession with how Manning played the game will fade, too. The Patriots quarterback detailed just how deeply he has studied Manning’s quarterback play in hopes of picking up some tip hidden within Manning’s footwork or legendary barking at the line of scrimmage.

“Every game he has played, I have watched,” Brady said. “I have file folders of his plays, of how he plays. It’d take years for me to watch it all again. But what he’s done in Denver has been incredible. Think of what he did — changing teams, changing organizations, at his age, and then in four years going to two Super Bowls with that team.

“What just happened, winning the Super Bowl in his last game, is a perfect way to end a career. … He set the standard for how to play the quarterback position.”

Brady had thanked Manning on Sunday on Facebook, saying it has been an honor to play against him. A day later, the reality seemed to have set in, and Brady is left with years of film that finally is done growing.