Peyton Manning made sure to show some respect to another former Tennessee Volunteer who is now a Baseball Hall of Famer.
Todd Helton was voted into Cooperstown on Tuesday after a 17-year Major League Baseball career that started and ended in Denver.
Manning, who was teammates with Helton on the 1994 Tennessee football team with Helton, made sure to congratulate him on social media.
“Was an honor to be your backup, an honor to be your fan, and it’s an honor to be your friend. Congrats on the HOF Todd, so well deserved,” Manning wrote.
Helton was briefly the Volunteers’ starting quarterback in 1994 after first-stringer Jerry Colquitt suffered a knee injury in the season opener.
The soon-to-be baseball star completed 36 of 66 passes for 406 yards and two touchdowns in three starts that season before an injury of his own led to Manning taking over at QB.
And as they say, the rest is history.
Both went on to successful careers in their respective sports, with Helton receiving 79.7 percent of the vote to earn his way to Cooperstown.
Manning was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.
Helton played from 1997-2013 for the Rockies and slashed .316/.414/.539 with 369 home runs and 1,406 RBIs.
His resume also included five trips to the All-Star Game, four Silver Slugger awards, three Gold Gloves and a batting title (2000).
Manning, who had a 17-year NFL career, overlapped with Helton in Denver for two seasons when the legendary quarterback was playing for the Broncos in 2012 and 2013.
Manning also voiced a congratulations video put together by the Rockies.
“Seventeen years, each of those days dedicated to one team, one city, one fanbase,” Manning said in the video released on social media. “And now, at last, a Hall of Famer. Todd, congratulations on your induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Congratulations, pal.”
Helton will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 21 along with third baseman Adrian Beltre and catcher Joe Mauer.
