Peyton Manning to co-anchor coverage of Olympics opening ceremony

Pro Football Hall of Fame member Peyton Manning is joining veteran Olympics host Mike Tirico and Grammy Award-winning singer Kelly Clarkson as the anchors of NBC's coverage of the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in Paris.

The trio made the announcement Tuesday night on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon."

"I took a little French in high school," Manning told Fallon. "And I told my mother I would take her to Paris one day. Thirty years to the time I graduated, I'm taking my mom to Paris for the Olympics."

Manning, 47, told The Athletic that he and Tirico began discussing the idea at the Kentucky Derby last May.

"I kind of argued with him as to why he and NBC thought I was worthy," Manning told the outlet. "He said they were bringing in Kelly Clarkson to kind of give the perspective of the fan and wanted me to share the perspective of what these athletes are thinking about it."

Manning has become a media star in his retirement, running the alternate "ManningCast" broadcast with his younger brother, Eli, during Monday night football games. He recently co-hosted the Country Music Awards.

But this will be a first for Manning — and the Olympics.

Instead of being held in a stadium, the July 26 opening ceremony in Paris will be held along the Seine, with the 10,500 athletes traveling the famed Paris river by boat, with fans watching along the route. The boat parade will end at the Trocadero, where the athletes will gather and the Olympic protocols will take place.

—Field Level Media