Tom Brady rival Eli Manning claps back over shirtless fishing photo

The NFL legend has set pulses racing and social media into meltdown over a shirtless photo of his recent fishing trip.

It’s like it’s 2008 all over again.

Tom Brady and Eli Manning traded playful barbs this week after the seven-time Super Bowl champion posted a shirtless photo from a fishing outing while commenting on the winter wonderland in Buffalo, as the New York Post reports.

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In a post shared with his 15 million followers, Brady could be seen holding a fish while basking in the sunlight — an upload that did not go unnoticed by Manning, who bested him in two Super Bowls.

“Cute Minnow, Tom!” the Giants legend exclaimed on Instagram, sharing side-by-side shots of his much larger catch in comparison to Brady’s.

Eli Manning and Tom Brady in his fishing post. Photos: AFP/Instagram

Eli Manning's cheeky response on Instagram.

That’s when Brady, 47, revisited a pivotal moment from their past.

“You use a helmet to catch that one too?” the former Patriots and Buccaneers quarterback quipped.

The moment Brady referred to was from the Patriots-Giants Super Bowl clash at the end of the 2007 season.

New England, which entered the championship contest undefeated at 18-0, was on the wrong end of a seismic momentum swing late in the fourth quarter while leading the Giants, 14-10.

Manning escaped a sack and hurled the ball downfield, which was caught by wide receiver David Tyree, who latched the ball to his helmet before coming down.

David Tyree’s famous “helmet catch” against New England in the 2008 Super Bowl. Photo: AP

Eli Manning with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Giants victory. Photo: Rob Carr/Getty Images/AFP

The rest, as they say, is history, with Manning connecting with wideout Plaxico Burress for a touchdown to put the Giants up 17-14, a lead they would never relinquish.

Brady and the Patriots finished the season at 18-1.

The Giants and Patriots would meet again in the Super Bowl four years later, with Big Blue topping New England again, this time 21-17.

Manning, 43, finished his career with the Giants in 2020.

Tom Brady in action during his 2012 Super Bowl loss to New York. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

And in his current role as a Fox Sports commentator. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images via AFP)

Brady, meanwhile, played through the 2022 season and won his final Super Bowl in February 2021 as a member of the Buccaneers.

He officially retired in early 2023.

Since hanging up their cleats, both Manning and Brady leapt to the small screen.

Manning co-hosts ESPN’s “ManningCast,” the alternate “Monday Night Football” broadcast, while Brady is in his first season as Fox’s lead NFL analyst.

It remains to be seen if their social media volley will go another round.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission

Originally published as Tom Brady rival Eli Manning claps back over shirtless fishing photo