Dive Brief:

• After the Broncos' Super Bowl 50 win, Peyton Manning name-dropped Budweiser in post-game interviews, immediately sparking speculation about whether the quarterback was making a plug for the beer brand and announcing his future plans.
• Current NFL players aren't allowed to shill alcoholic products, but according to an AB InBev spokesperson, Manning wasn't paid for the mention. 
• Gawker Media reported that Manning owns part of two Anheuser-Busch distributorships, which might explain why he mentioned Budweiser.

Dive Insight:

Hi Internet. For the record, Budweiser did not pay Peyton Manning to mention Budweiser tonight. We were surprised and delighted that he did.

— Lisa Weser (@LisaWeser) February 8, 2016

Given that active NFL players are not allowed to endorse alcoholic beverages, there was some immediate speculation that Manning was signaling Super Bowl 50 was his last game. In fact, one of the times he gave the beer brand a shout out was when he was deflecting a question about whether he had just played his last NFL game. 

Manning is a veteran product endorser who has high visibility for his catchy Nationwide ads and for his Papa Johns spots. Manning was congratulated on the field immediately following the game by his pizza-making partner, John Schnatter. 

If the Budweiser spokesperson is correct, the brand received quite the jolt of free publicity on one of the largest TV stages of the year. The Walt Disney Company has famously used Super Bowl winners in its "I'm going to Disney Land" campaign, which began in 1987 and featured a winning player saying the phrase in an ad that ran immediately after the game.

Meanwhile, when Manning said he was "gonna drink a lot of Budweiser tonight," the beer brand jumped on the moment, tweeting out they had no knowledge it was coming, but are "glad it did." This is the type of real-time moment that brands wait for during the game, especially following the success of Oreo's "Dunk in the Dark" zinger from 2013.

We didn't know the shout out was coming either, but we're glad it did. @Broncos celebrate like this tonight. #SB50 pic.twitter.com/ugGyt3Sg0z

— Budweiser (@Budweiser) February 8, 2016

As far as paid advertising went for AB InBev, the global brewer bought three minutes of Super Bowl ads this year, including the premium A1 spot that ran immediately after the kickoff.