Peyton Manning ain't closing the door to the idea of running an NFL team -- telling TMZ Sports he REALLY likes being a fan right now ... but "we'll see."
"I kind of like being a fan," the future Hall of Famer told us on his way out of Spago in Beverly Hills.
"[I get to] go to a lot of games ... see the Broncos play, Colts play, see the Giants play ... so I'm kind of enjoying doing that part of it right now but we'll see."
There are multiple teams who have reached out to Manning to run football operations -- but Manning clearly isn't ready to make that life commitment right now ... just a few seasons after retiring as a player.
Peyton also weighs in on the current state of the QB position in the NFL ... and shouts out Patrick Mahomes from the Chiefs.
The 43-year-old also talks about how the NFL has handled issues regarding players getting violent off the field ... explaining why he thinks Roger Goodell and his crew are "trying their best."
Manning says the league has room to grow when it comes to those issues -- but ultimately "they're trying to do the right thing."