If former NFL star Peyton Manning thought it was difficult to get quarterbacks to join his TV series last year, as the 2023 NFL season draws nigh, he is finding it even harder this year because he still doesn’t have any takers for season 2 of his Netflix series Quarterbacks.
Cameras for the inaugural season of Quarterbacks followed Kansas City Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes, the Minnesota Vikings’ Kirk Cousins, and the Atlanta Falcons’ Marcus Mariota. And you’ll recall that Mahomes went on to win the Super Bowl.
Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs scrambles and looks to pass during an NFL preseason football game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Kansas City Chiefs at State Farm Stadium on August 19, 2023, in Glendale, Arizona. (Michael Owens/Getty Images)
But with only days to go before the NFL’s Week 1 games kick off, Manning still has a big goose egg for participants for the season two’s show, Yahoo Sports reports.
Nearly half of this year’s QBs turned the show down outright. And the rest have simply avoided even talking with Manning and his Netflix film crew.
It wasn’t as if last season’s show was a failure. The series drew 3.3 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings. But despite the complimentary reviews and the excellent viewer numbers, Manning is getting nowhere with this year’s crop of quarterbacks.
“I’d love for someone to call us back and say, ‘I want to do it.’ I had three starting quarterbacks tell me no yesterday, so I’m swallowing my pride,” Manning told the media.
Former Football Quarterback Peyton Manning talks before the SEC Championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on December 03, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford said no, insisting he didn’t want to put his teammates in front of the cameras like that. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurt added that he “didn’t feel it was appropriate” to agree to join Manning’s series. And at least eight others outright said no.
Manning had some trouble nailing down Mahomes, Cousins, and Mariota last year but was able to secure their agreement just in time.
But so far, for this year, it seems to be a no-go for Manning’s series.
The former Denver Broncos quarterback is laying it on thick to get someone, anyone, to join his show.
“I think maybe some guys are thinking that it is going to be a distraction, even though I told a couple of them, ‘I guarantee you’ll win the Super Bowl like Mahomes if you do it.’” he said.
Manning was still hopeful but understood that time was running out. “To use a cheesy analogy, we’re definitely in the two-minute drill here,” he said.
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