Overview

• During the Week 1 ManningCast, Manning displayed handwritten notes he said he sent to Pope Leo XIV and the pope’s executive assistant.
• Manning acknowledged he “couldn’t close the pope,” after Eli Manning teased the attempt to land the Chicago native for the broadcast.
• Bill Murray, Saquon Barkley and Randy Moss appeared as guests on the season’s first show.
• Manning issued an on-air open invitation to the pope, naming him among top targets alongside Tiger Woods, Bradley Cooper, President Bush and Larry David.
• No response from the Vatican has been reported, with coverage highlighting the first American pope’s well-known Chicago sports fandom.