Peyton Manning donates to ex-teammate's House campaign

Former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning reportedly donated to the campaign of former teammate Anthony Gonzalez, who is running as a Republican in Ohio’s 16th Congressional District.

The legendary quarterback joined a list of former NFL players who gave money to Gonzalez, a wide receiver, who played for Ohio State in college, and then the Indianapolis Colts and, briefly, the New England Patriots, Cleveland.com reported Monday, citing Federal Election Commission filings.

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Gonzalez is looking to fill the seat of current GOP Rep. Jim Renacci, who is running for Ohio governor. 

The former Colts player has $612,296 in available funds for his campaign, according to the report. 

Chicago Bears player Kirk Barton, former Colts and Patriots wide receiver Austin Collie and Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam have also donated, according to the report.

Gonzalez, a Cleveland native, first announced his campaign in late August. It’s his first congressional campaign. He went into business after leaving the NFL in 2012.

Gonzalez left his top role at a San Francisco education technology firm and moved to the Republican-leaning 16th District over the summer.

Two GOP state lawmakers have also thrown their names into the primary race.

Manning himself has been the topic of political speculation. Retiring Sen. Bob CorkerRobert (Bob) Phillips CorkerGOP lawmakers stick to Trump amid new criticism Trump asserts his power over Republicans Romney is only GOP senator not on new White House coronavirus task force MORE (R-Tenn.) said he thought Manning would be a “great” candidate to replace him.

Last month, though, Manning said he had “zero interest” in running for public office.

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