Archie and Olivia Manning Reveal Their Sons’ True Personalities (Exclusive)

Before Peyton and Eli Manning became NFL quarterbacks, the siblings — plus their eldest brother, Cooper — were young kids with very different personalities, their parents, Archie and Olivia, tell PEOPLE.

Archie, 76, recalls Cooper, 51, being the brother that “usually brings the humor” among the three Manning boys. “Of course, he was the oldest and he was always a funny little boy,” says Archie.

“And very hard to discipline because he was so funny,” Olivia, 72, chimes in, as her husband of 54 years agrees.

Eli, 44, says that he was “always grateful for Coop” being the oldest brother “because he always got in trouble, and by the time I came around, my parents were very relaxed on all the rules.”

“Eli could do no wrong,” jokes Olivia.

Peyton, 49, meanwhile, “was definitely more serious,” according to his mom. Archie agrees, saying, “I think Cooper kind of taught Peyton how to loosen up,” and adding that his eldest son was “pretty crazy” in general.

The Mannings, sans Peyton, had fun with their well-known sharp wit and family dynamic in a new family ad promoting the New York Times family subscription.

The Mannings shot the promo in New Jersey, where Eli lives with his family, and Cooper ended up taking the brunt of Eli’s jokes.

“We had a lot of fun just really kind of teasing Coop the whole time and everybody got involved and chimed in,” says Eli.

“But anytime you get to shoot a commercial with your family, it’s always just a real treat because we can just kind of go back and forth and improv a little bit…and we can kind of tease each other a little bit, no one’s going to have any hard feelings, and know that it’s all just kind of good fun and family fun,” the two-time Super Bowl champ adds.