Football has returned amid the 2025 TV schedule, which means the Manning brothers are back to doing their usual Monday Night Football “Manningcast” on ESPN2. The program relies on the football knowledge and comedic chops that Peyton has showcased on Saturday Night Live, Eli’s trolling tendencies and, of course, a rotating list of celebrity guests. The show welcomes a lot of big names, but the Mannings are pursuing one of the holiest yet, Pope Leo XIV, with Peyton putting in work to make it happen.
Could the first American pope also be the first one to appear on ESPN2 and call some plays during an NFL football game? It’s something that Peyton Manning is interested in, as he expressed during the Chicago Bears’ matchup against the Minnesota Vikings. In fact, Manning revealed during the broadcast that he went so far as to write a letter, in hopes of getting the Pontificate to join him and his brother on air at some point:
I couldn’t close the pope, but I made the effort Eli. That’s the effort we make at ESPN 2. I tried my hardest. Can we show the letter? Look at these two handwritten letters I wrote. I wrote his holiness himself, and I wrote his executive assistant. Handwritten. I made the effort…if you’re watching your holiness this is an open invitation, come on the show anytime. it’s Tiger Woods, it’s Bradley Cooper, it’s President Bush, it’s Larry David. Ya’ll are our most-wanted on our list for the Manningcast. Come anytime, we’d love to have you, your holiness.
I would love to see if there are any other lists on which Pope Leo XIV and Larry David, the mastermind behind two of the greatest irreverent sitcoms of all time, are included. In any case, the Pope has the honor of having a standing invitation to appear on the Manningcast, which airs simultaneously to the standard broadcast of Monday Night Football on ABC and ESPN.
The Manning brothers inviting a esteemed clergyman to help them commentate on a football game may feel random to the outside observer. However, it makes sense, with the context that Leo XIV hails from the Chicago area. It’s widely reported that he grew up being a fan of the Chicago Bears, and people have traveled to gift His Holiness team memorabilia as a result.
While I’m sure the Bears would’ve appreciated a little divine intervention following the Minnesota Vikings’ comeback win on Monday, I do wonder what the actual odds are that Pope Leo would actually grace the Manningcast with his presence. The show can occasionally go off the rails with celebrity guests and the occasional random events like a streaker on the field. Also, who knows if the Vatican would sign off on having the Holy Father appear on a live event where anything could happen.
Additionally, Vatican City is six hours ahead of Eastern Time, so he’d have to join the Manningcast in the wee hours of the morning to be a part of it. It’s a big ask for a religious figure who holds a daily papal audience at 9 a.m. and can also potentially do a daily mass before that. That’s not to say it wouldn’t happen, but it may take a “small miracle” for him to free up his schedule to appear.
Catch the Manningcast on ESPN 2 on Mondays in the meantime. We’ll see if Pope Leo responds, or if he has the time in his schedule to surprise the brothers on their broadcast. I’d personally love to see him appear, though I doubt he’d have a story as entertaining as the one told by coach Bill Belichick when he appeared.
