Report: CBS tried to land Peyton Manning before re-signing Tony Romo

CBS Sports tried to sign Peyton Manning to a contract before it re-signed Tony Romo, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.

Tony Romo signing with CBS has not ended the stunning news cycle around the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned NFL analyst. Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, who broke the story of Romo’s mega-millions deal Friday, has dropped another news bomb:

Per the Post:

In the midst of the Romo talks, CBS offered Manning a contract that is believed to be in the range of $10 million to $12 million a year for five or six seasons, according to sources. Manning, as is his style, was not quick to decide.

With Manning not biting and with a Super Bowl on CBS next year, as well as forthcoming negotiations for a new NFL TV contract, CBS went all-in on Romo, whom they very much wanted to keep.

This prevented ESPN from making its planned 10-year, $140 million offer, according to sources. If Romo had hit the open market, maybe ESPN would have bid higher.