LOS ANGELES - No, Anheuser-Busch didn't pay Peyton Manning to say he'd be drinking a lot of Budweiser after winning the Super Bowl on Sunday.
The company's verified Twitter account said late Sunday, "We didn't know the shout out was coming either, but we're glad it did."
A-B marketing director Lisa Weser also tweeted, "Budweiser did not pay Peyton Manning to mention Budweiser tonight."
Then why use his precious seconds on the third-highest rated show in U.S. television history to call out a beer brand?
Beer Business Daily publisher Harry Schuhmacher tweeted out a possible answer: "He owns a piece of a Bud distributorship."
Manning also celebrated the win atop a float Monday at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.
A Disneyland spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a question whether he was paid for the trip.