John Elway is headed to the “ManningCast,” setting up a reunion with Peyton Manning as the Denver Broncos open the 2026 season against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Elway will make his debut on ESPN’s alternate “Monday Night Football” broadcast on September 14, according to The Denver Post. That puts the two quarterbacks responsible for each of Denver’s three Super Bowl championships together as the current Broncos begin a season carrying championship expectations of their own.
And one subject figures to be particularly compelling: Bo Nix.
John Elway Will Join Peyton Manning for Broncos-Chiefs
Elway joining Manning and Eli Manning gives the Week 1 broadcast an unmistakable Broncos flavor.
Peyton and Eli are beginning the sixth season of “Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli,” which ESPN announced will include 12 games and, for the first time, the Super Bowl. ESPN is also introducing “Manning Mode,” an analytics-driven feature designed to let the brothers and their guests break down games in greater detail.
The Broncos-Chiefs matchup is the first ManningCast of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Mountain time, with the traditional broadcast on ESPN and ABC and the ManningCast airing on ESPN2 and the ESPN app.
Elway’s presence adds another layer to an already significant opener.
The Hall of Famer took Denver to five Super Bowls as a player and closed his career with consecutive championships following the 1997 and 1998 seasons. Years later, as the Broncos’ top football executive, Elway helped bring Manning to Denver.
That partnership ultimately produced another championship. Manning’s final NFL season ended with Denver defeating the Carolina Panthers 24-10 in Super Bowl 50.
Now both men will be watching another Broncos quarterback attempt to build a championship run.
Bo Nix Gives Elway-Manning Reunion More Meaning
Elway’s assessment of Nix could be one of the most interesting parts of the broadcast.
Denver spent years looking for a lasting answer at quarterback after Manning retired. Elway was running the football operation for much of that search, which included Trevor Siemian, Case Keenum and Joe Flacco among the team’s starters.
Nix has changed the conversation.
After leading Denver to the playoffs in each of his first two NFL seasons, he enters 2026 established as the Broncos’ long-term starter rather than another short-term attempt to fill the position.
That makes Elway uniquely positioned to discuss what Denver now has at quarterback, and how difficult it was to find.
Monday’s opponent should make the discussion even more relevant.
Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes is expected to return after suffering ACL and LCL tears in his left knee last season. Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said Mahomes was “likely” to start against Denver as long as he avoided a setback.
Denver, meanwhile, brings back 21 of 22 starters from last season and enters Week 1 with considerably different expectations than the rebuilding Broncos teams that followed Manning’s retirement.
Elway and Manning know better than almost anyone what those expectations feel like in Denver.
On Monday night, Broncos fans will get to hear what both think of the team trying to live up to them.
Broncos Reunion Sees Peyton Manning, John Elway Together For Chiefs Game