David Letterman once cut a bit from ‘The Late Show’ so he wouldn’t hurt Peyton Manning’s feelings

In a piece for The Monday Morning Quarterback, Peyton Manning waxed poetic about his love for David Letterman following his appearance on the talk show stalwart's final episode last night. He revealed how close he had become with Letterman over the years, and it appears the affection was mutual. Manning describes an incident where Letterman cut a bit out of his show so he wouldn't offend Manning:

It’s funny, but my favorite memory of Dave—and what I think says so much about him as a person—didn’t come from one of my appearances on the show. (I was on four times as a guest, and then again on Wednesday’s finale.) It came soon after I signed with the Broncos—actually, on the day before the draft in 2012, when the Colts were sitting there with the first pick.

That day, I was working out at the Broncos’ facility, trying to get used to my new world and learn Denver’s offense. I got word that Dave was trying to reach me, and so I get on the phone with him. He explains that they’re going to have Andrew Luck on the show, and what they want to do is present him with his new Colts jersey, like they’d be the ones telling him he was a Colt.

He said to me, "I don’t want to do it if it makes you uncomfortable at all."

I said, "Dave, it doesn’t matter what I think. You do what you feel is best for the show."

Really, I didn’t care. Whatever Dave wanted to do was fine, but he said, "That’s it! We’re not doing it. Forget it. It’s done."

That meant so much to me. I didn’t give him an answer. It wasn’t my place to say anything. But the fact that he made that call, I can tell you this: If that were any other show, they sure wouldn’t have called to ask what I thought.