Tom Brady may have cemented himself as the greatest of all time three weeks ago when he won his seventh Super Bowl championship, the most for any player in NFL history. But it was a feat only accomplished by Peyton Manning that Brady was actually chasing.

Manning was the only quarterback in the league’s 101-year history to start and win a Super Bowl title with two different franchises before the 43-year-old Brady added his name to that list with the Buccaneers in Super Bowl 2021.

Brady had won his first six Lombardi Trophies with the Patriots before he signed a two-year, $50 million contract with Tampa Bay as a free agent last offseason – which could turn into an extension.

“He said one of the things that looked really fun and challenging to him is what Peyton did in Denver,” Buccaneers quarterback coach Clyde Christensen told CBS Sports Radio Wednesday. “There was something about that challenge that hit [Brady] right, ‘Hey, I’m going to go see if I can do this again somewhere else.’

“I do think that the challenge of that was a huge thing for him. Twenty-one years is a long time. Sometimes there’s time for a change. He’s mentioned several times that he was impressed with it and that looked fun and challenging to him.”

Christensen, who has 41 years of coaching experience in the NFL, had worked with Manning from 2002 to 2011 during his time with the Colts, including a stint as offensive coordinator. Now, he’s gotten a front row seat as Brady captured his fifth Super Bowl MVP award – the most in NFL history. Brady has also surpassed Manning in passing yards, passing touchdowns and passer rating.

Manning still has a 5-3 advantage over Brady in regular-season MVP awards, but Brady has expressed a desire to play past his initial target of 45 years old.