Peyton Manning not only clinched a trip to Super Bowl XLVIII with the Denver Broncos' 26-16 victory over the New England Patriots in Sunday's AFC Championship Game, but he also notched $24,800 for his charity due to his use of the word "Omaha" throughout the game.
According to ESPN, eight businesses agreed to donate a combined $800 to Manning's Peyback Foundation for each time he said, "Omaha" during the AFC Championship Game. Manning said it 31 times during the team's victory over New England.
"This has been terrific for us," said David G. Brown, president and CEO of the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, which headed up the effort, according to ESPN. "Before Friday, we had calculated that news coverage of Omaha had generated the equivalent of about $10 million in advertising."
Some of the businesses that participated in the charitable event were Omaha Steaks, Mutual of Omaha, FNB Omaha, CenturyLink, ConAgra Foods, Union Pacific, DJ's Dugout and Cox Communications, according to ESPN, and the effort may continue into Super Bowl XLVIII when the Broncos take on the Seattle Seahawks and more businesses are expected to participate.
ESPN reports that according to Front Row Analytics, the city of Omaha being mentioned verbally earned the city the equivalent $150,000 in advertising alone.
"This is really great for Omaha as a community and for the businesses that are embedded here," said Todd Simon, a senior vice president of Omaha Steaks, which his family owns, per ESPN. "Who knows whether any of this will translate to the bottom line, if ever, but it can't hurt."
The idea for the program was started after the Broncos defeated the San Diego Chargers in last week's divisional round and Manning uttered the word "Omaha" 44 times.
Manning went 32-for-43 Sunday for 400 yards with two touchdowns. He'll try to earn his second Super Bowl championship on Feb. 2 when the Broncos take on the Seahawks at MetLife Stadium
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