Cooper Manning & Capital One on Business, Football and Family
It's been a busy year for the Manning family. Peyton and Eli have continued to entertain fans through their coverage of Monday Night Football on ESPN, bringing in captivating guests on their alternate broadcast of some of the NFL's biggest games.
Arch Manning is coming off a successful season as the full-time starting quarterback at Texas, and his father Cooper was along for every step of the way. Cooper followed Arch throughout the country this season, culminating in the quarterback's MVP performance in the Cheez-It Bowl against Michigan to end the year.
"MANNING THE MAGICIAN!"@MarkJonesESPN on the call as Arch puts Texas in front of Michigan ????
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 31, 2025
Watch the end of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on ABC and the ESPN App ???? pic.twitter.com/l6bZvb5ZbO
The Manning legacy is well-known for excellence on the football field over multiple generations, but Cooper has been hard at work to hold that same standard in the business world.
A Veteran of the Business and Sports Worlds
“It’s fun being an entrepreneur and a business owner," Cooper Manning told Men's Journal, exclusively.
"You’ve got to be organized, you’ve got to learn how to keep things tight and not rely on too many outside sources to help you. You’ve got to run your own show - keep it lean and mean.
It’s great - I’m partnered with Capital One and I used their Venture X business card this fall a bunch. Especially traveling around, a ton. On the road all fall between business and football games and family duties, it was a real pleasure to deal with. It’s been an enjoyable experience.”
Bridging the Gap Between Sports, Business
Cooper Manning is a co-founder of the famed Manning Passing Academy, where young players gather to learn and grow under some of the greatest football minds from the past and present.
Manning is also a principal at the AJ Capital Partners real estate development and investment firm. He works in business development and investor relations with the firm as a senior managing director.
As a parent of a top college athlete, Manning says that some of the lessons learned on the field can translate to the boardroom.
“I tell parents all the time - they’re trying to figure out if their son is gonna play football or if their daughter is gonna play sports - the time on the bus, the time going to practice, the time struggling, when you’re not playing as much," Manning said.
"Those little setbacks and hurdles, and then eventually the accomplishments, are all great life lessons. They come back and help you later on when you are working with someone in the office or dealing with a client that’s kind of challenging. You learn to deal with people, and I think those sort of life lessons are fantastic down the road.
It doesn’t really matter to me whether little Sally or little Timmy is scoring a bunch of points and catching touchdowns or what have you. It’s more about the experience - learning how to read people and be a good teammate. Those are the things that help you when you get further down the road in business.”
Manning noted that there are strategies and life lessons to be taken from both sports and business, but he also pointed out the differences when it comes to rebounding from adversity.
“It’s one thing to be an athlete, you have a poor game and you usually have a ‘next week’ - you can bounce back," Manning noted.
"In business, you don’t have a ‘next week’ sometimes. Every week is important, especially if you’re on a tight budget or you’ve got deadlines, clients to serve and people looking for product or whatever the business is."
Manning said that ultimately, he felt that business was more difficult than sports because of the nature of things like deadlines and keeping up with clients.
"Sometimes, athletes think it’s the end-all, be-all - you get to bounce back and have another one. In business, you’d better be right early. You don’t have those second chances, otherwise you may be pivoting to a new business," Manning said.
"I do think there’s a lot of correlation between the two, sports and business have a lot in common. I think that’s why you see a lot of people who are successful in business who were probably pretty competitive in their earlier years. But yeah, business is tougher than sports sometimes, in my opinion.”
College Sports Have Changed Drastically
When asked about the differences between college sports today and in the past, Manning said that athletes simply had more time back in the day.
"It’s a lot more time spent at the facility, it’s a lot of time getting your body ready to play. Just the amount of cold tubs and hot tubs and naps and treatment and all the things that go into trying to stay healthy. It’s pretty important, the way these athletes heal," Manning noted.
"In the old days, it was a little more of ‘Alright, practice and then you do your extra work.’ Now the extra work is almost mandatory. I think anyone who has someone they know who plays competitive college athletics, it’s not a hobby. It’s a full time job. To balance things - your schoolwork, your social life - being the best you can be on the field, on the court, it’s challenging.”
Capital One's Impact on Manning's Year
Manning said that the Capital One Venture X Business Card proved to be a valuable asset during 2025, and one that he was glad to have on his side as he followed his son around the SEC and the greater college football world.
“It was great having the Capital One Venture X Business Card with me this fall. We went to great college towns. I love to see all these places. Going to Lexington and then going to the horse races on that Friday before a game at Kentucky, going to Athens, going to Gainesville. You go with great friends, and then you have friends who are coming to meet you there. Dinners on Friday night before the game.
It was great to have [the Capital One Venture X Business Card] in my pocket knowing I could count on it. No drama. If we were traveling, there’s great lounge access, mileage access...
it was great to have the Capital One guys on my team.”