Peyton Manning, the legendary quarterback, is set to play his former team the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday in the NFL playoffs.
Manning, 38, receives a lot of support from his family, including his wife Ashley Thompson.
Peyton and Ashley, 40, were married in 2001, while he was playing for the Colts. They were introduced by her parents’ next-door neighbor the summer before Peyton started college.
The couple have two children—twins. Mosley, a girl, and Marshall, a boy, were born in 2011.
She recalled visiting one particular disadvantaged family as a child. “My dad took us,” she says. “I think he had given them a car. We would play together and we were so much like those children, but then I would come home to my house where I had everything I needed. My life was so different. It really made an impact on me.”
Both Peyton and Ashley like to donate money but also donate time, seeing the difference in the two.
“We can give them financial support, but I also think we can give the kids confidence and help teach them to make the right decisions in their lives,” she explained. “A lot of these kids don’t have a consistent adult in their lives. Definitely Peyton is a role model, and it is neat for me to be a role model for the girls in the group.”
Another interesting aspect of Peyton’s wife is her minority stake in the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies.
Turns out she wanted to make sure the Grizzlies stayed in her hometown, so she became part of a group that purchased the team several years ago.
“I am very excited to make the commitment to join the potential new ownership group of the Memphis Grizzlies,” she said in a statement. “As a native of Memphis, it was important to me that the Grizzlies remain in Tennessee and continue to have a positive impact on the community.”
The group famously includes singer and actor Justin Timberlake, but also includes former basketball star Penny Hardaway, and tech guru Robert Pera. The Memphis Flyer reported that Manning paid $5 million for a 2.84 percent stake--the same as Timberlake.
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