Peyton Manning Hilariously Ribs His Retirement Life in ‘SNL 50’ Appearance

NBC’s Saturday Night Live celebrated its 50th anniversary this weekend in New York City with a special “SNL 50” show airing, ironically, on Sunday night.

Among the many who returned to 30 Rockefeller’s Studio 8H for the event was former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning—who hosted SNL in 2007 after his first Super Bowl victory.

“Is Lorne gonna retire now?” the Hall of Fame quarterback asked during an audience Q&A hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

“Lorne, never retire,” continued Manning upon hearing that the SNL producer plans to keep working. “It’s brutal out here. They have you doing all these commercials. Insurance, beer. I did one the other day for something called, ‘Fan Fight Power Monster 3.’ I don’t even know what the heck that is! I just assumed it was a video game, but then in the last voice-over I said, ‘Now, in diet chili flavor.’ I hate being retired.

“No seriously Lorne, getting old sucks. You feel like such a loser.”

You can watch Manning’s appearance at the 8:10 mark of the below video:

Audience Q&A with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey! #SNL50 pic.twitter.com/XYqXMddhS9

— Saturday Night Live – SNL (@nbcsnl) February 17, 2025Manning, no stranger to a commercial (or an entire ESPN alt-cast bearing his namesake), is also a pseudo-professional at self-deprecating humor.

Good on him for leaning into the fun.