Peyton Manning thought Patriots "bugged" their locker room

The New England Patriots, sport’s biggest cheaters since the 1919 Black Sox?

“Deflategate” was the story that wouldn’t die this offseason, giving football fans something to talk about while the current Super Bowl champions were put on trial for the entire world to see. After it all played out, Tom Brady was given a four-game suspension, Robert Kraft continues to deny it all and information came out saying the real advantage to deflating the ball is a low fumble rate.

Rewind a bit further in time and there was also “Spygate” with the Patriots filming an opponent’s walk-through days before a game.

Blatant cheating. By one of the top teams in the NFL for the last 15 years.

Well, it doesn’t end there, apparently.

Current Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning believed the Pats put microphones in the visitor’s locker room at Gillette Stadium, as Manning’s head coach with the Indianapolis Colts Tony Dungy recalled on the Dan Patrick Show:

“I know that that is very true, and, you know, as Peyton talked to guys who played for the Patriots, some of the guys who came over — whether it’s true or not he treated it as true. We didn’t have a lot of strategy discussions inside the locker room there,” Dungy said.

“Peyton takes everything to the nth degree,” Dungy continued.

Would it be a complete surprise to hear the Patriots bugged the opponent’s locker room? No. Is it a surprise Peyton is this paranoid and competitive? No way.

Whether it’s true or not, it only adds to the lore of this legendary rivalry between Manning and Brady. The Broncos host the Patriots on Sunday, Nov. 29, a night game. So, Manning won’t have to worry his strategy discussions in the locker room will be overheard.