No, Peyton Manning won't be calling 'Omaha Steaks' as an audible

Peyton Manning, a player who never met an endorsement deal he didn't like, is being targeted as a potential spokesman by Omaha Steaks, a company that solicited noted weirdo Gary Busey (via his participation in the tremendously depressing television series "Celebrity Apprentice") to pitch an ad campaign for its mail order steaks business in 2011.

Confused? Let's back things up a bit.

Manning's most famous audible call is "Omaha." He's frequently heard yelling it at the line of scrimmage. Usually, he shouts it to change the snap count before a play.

Fans on Twitter took notice of this last weekend, as Manning used the call frequently -- to great effect -- against the San Diego Chargers.

The people at Omaha Steaks noticed, too, and they are clever enough to realize they were presented with an opportunity for a lot of free advertising.

Thus, the company went public with an offer to hire Manning to shout "Omaha Steaks," rather than simply "Omaha."

"Omaha Steaks is always looking for awesome promotional opportunities that get our brand in front of customers and potential customers," said Todd Simon, a senior vice president at the company.

Manning won't accept the offer, of course, for a number of reasons. First, it would be difficult and foolish to change the audibles in the Broncos' offense at this point in the season. Second, the NFL doesn't allow on-field advertising that isn't approved by the league. The television networks that advertise games wouldn't be too happy about a company trying to sneak a free commercial into a game broadcast, either. It would also be tremendously embarrassing for Manning, whose complex audible calls have given him the reputation of the most cerebral player in NFL history.

None of that really matters, though. Omaha Steaks has already accomplished its goal by getting this story written.

And you participated by reading this story.