Tag: Monday Night Football

Peyton Manning could make more per year with ESPN than he averaged in the NFL

ESPN is willing to give Peyton Manning about $6 million more per season as a commentator than he averaged as an NFL quarterback.

ESPN desperately wants Peyton Manning and the network is willing to pay a premium for his services.

CBS Sports recently reached an agreement with commentator Tony Romo on a contract extension that will pay him around $17 million per year. Manning is now able to use Romo’s contract as leverage and ESPN is willing to top it.

Disney, ESPN’s parent company, is willing to pay Manning $18 million to $20 million per season to call “Monday Night Football” games, according to a report from Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports.

Manning has met with ESPN executives in recent days, according to McCarthy. The former NFL quarterback already has a working relationship with ESPN — he has hosted two different shows — Detail and Peyton’s Places — on ESPN Plus, a streaming service.

In addition to trying to land Manning, ESPN is also trying to trade for NBC’s Al Michaels. ESPN seems to believe Manning and Michaels could team up to form a dream team that would rival the CBS duo of Romo and Jim Nantz.

If Manning signs with ESPN for $20 million a year, he would be making more per season than he did in all but three of his 18 years in the NFL. In 2015, his final season, Manning made $19 million, according to Spotrac.com. He retired after helping the Broncos win Super Bowl 50 that year.

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Report: ESPN mulling $20 million offer to Peyton Manning for Monday Night Football

A report has ESPN considering making an offer of $20 million a year to Peyton Manning for Monday Night Football.

Tony Romo may have sold himself short at $18 million per year with CBS. Front Office Sports reports ESPN is considering offering Peyton Manning $20 million a year to step into the Monday Night Football booth.

The 43-year old Manning met with ESPN executives over the last few days, sources said. The two-time Super Bowl winner with the Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts has an existing business relationship with ESPN, hosting the 30-episode “Peyton’s Places” documentary series on ESPN+.

ESPN declined to comment.

ESPN pays the NFL $1.9 billion a year for the rights to air MNF- more than double the $950 million paid by NBC for the higher-rated “Sunday Night Football.”

ESPN interested in acquiring QB Philip Rivers for commentator position

Could quarterback Philip Rivers be taking his talents from the football field to the commentator booth?

Quarterback Philip Rivers is expected to get interest from NFL teams when free agency starts in a couple of weeks.

However, if Rivers doesn’t receive the offer he’s hoping for or if he ends up deciding to retire, ESPN would like to pursue the 38-year old, per New York Post.

The network plans to attempt to acquire Al Michaels from NBC Sports for “Monday Night Football” after failing to get former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo, who landed a monstrous deal with CBS.

If ESPN is able to land Michaels, the plan is to bring in former Colts and Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning.

If Manning says no, Rivers, who parted ways with the Chargers, could be their next option, taking his talents from the football field to the booth.

The limit would not exist with the number of “shoot” and “golly” could would come out of Rivers’ mouth if he was to take a job as a commentator, but it would certainly be a sight to see.

ESPN wants to trade for NBC’s Al Michaels to pair with Peyton Manning on MNF

NFL free agency gets going less than two weeks from now, and, according to one report, the TV networks are ramping up for some moves of their own.

NFL free agency gets going less than two weeks from now, and, according to one report, the TV networks are ramping up for some moves of their own.

Report: ESPN wants to team Al Michaels with Peyton Manning on Monday Night Football

Could ESPN be attempting to pair Al Michaels and Peyton Manning in the Monday Night Football booth?

The shockers continue to come out of the broadcast booth as networks look to build their teams for 2020. First, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post broke the massive contract CBS gave to Tony Romo. Now, he has news ESPN wants to team Al Michaels with Peyton Manning on Monday Night Football.

If this miracle could be pulled off, it would end the oft-criticized tenure of Joe Tessitore on play-by-play and Booger McFarland, who went from a contraption on the sidelines to the booth after Jason Witten returned to the Dallas Cowboys following a disastrous 2018 season.

The one problem would be Michaels is under contract to NBC, which a spokesman was quick to mention when asked about the report.

“Al is under contract for the foreseeable future,” NBC spokesman Greg Hughes said.

Another issue per the Post is the tag-team might only happen if Michaels and Manning come as a package.

NBC has already hired Mike Tirico as Michaels’ replacement with the exact timing of the transition not entirely clear. Tirico is supposed to call more games soon, though. The end of Michaels’ contract coincides with the Super Bowl in Los Angeles in early 2022.

Tirico is expected to take over for Michaels full-time after the LA Super Bowl at the latest, but could be adding more games as early as this season.

In 2022, Michaels could retire, but he has shown no real inclination to do that and, in reality, the one-game-per-week NFL season only extends from August through early February. Ultimately, Michaels may not want to be dealt from NBC, as its Sunday games are the top-rated program on TV, a Super Bowl is on the horizon and he has been with this crew for the past 14 seasons.

Oh, and the Post adds Michaels has been part of a network trade in his storied career.

There is precedent for a trade. In 2006, Michaels was set to continue on MNF as it transferred from ABC to ESPN, having agreed to a new deal to remain on the broadcast.

After Michaels’ MNF partner, John Madden, left for NBC, Michaels asked out of his signed contract. ESPN obliged, but it received Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in return.

Oswald was the precursor to the creation of Mickey Mouse. The rights to Oswald, though, were owned by NBC’s parent company then, Universal. It had been important to the Disney family to regain Oswald.

 

 

 

ESPN courting Peyton Manning for ‘Monday Night Football’

ESPN has reached out to Peyton Mannig to see if he has any interest in calling NFL games.

Before signing Tony Romo to a contract extension worth more than $17 million per season, CBS Sports tried to convince Peyton Manning to join their broadcast team. Manning wasn’t quick to make a decision so CBS opted to bring back Romo instead.

Now that Romo is unavailable and CBS won’t be courting Manning anymore, ESPN appears set to make another push for the two-time Super Bowl champion.

ESPN has reached out to Manning to gauge his interest in potentially joining Monday Night Football, according to a report from John Ourand of the Sports Business Journal (subscription required for link).

Manning has turned down ESPN in the past but he does have a good working relationship with the network. Manning has hosted two different shows — Detail and Peyton’s Places — on ESPN Plus, a streaming service.

Manning’s experience working with ESPN and Romo resetting the commentator market might convince the former Colts and Broncos quarterback that it’s finally time to join a broadcast booth.

Manning, 43, probably won’t be in any rush to give ESPN a decision.

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Ranking 6 options for ESPN now that Tony Romo won’t be in the Monday Night Football booth

HOUSTON – NOVEMBER 23: ESPN Monday Night Football cameras point during the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans on November 23, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Titans won 20-17. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images) …

HOUSTON – NOVEMBER 23: ESPN Monday Night Football cameras point during the game between the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans on November 23, 2009 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Titans won 20-17. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

All that speculation about Tony Romo leaving CBS for the greener pastures of Monday Night football was for naught. Romo is hanging around CBS for the foreseeable future — as anyone would if they were offered $17 million per year — and ESPN has to figure out what material changes — if any — will be made for their flagship football program.

Before we start all the speculating, here are the rules:

The potential color person must not be tied to another network for work on game day. Nate Burleson has shown some great personality and may be a good option but he’s tied to CBS on Sundays.

There will be a preference for ESPN personalities. See, it’s a lot cheaper to move people in-house than it would be to hire someone from the outside. Of course, there will be non-ESPN personalities on the list, but they will probably come at more of a cost.

We won’t be dealing with current players either. Tom Brady isn’t going to be in that booth. Greg Olsen is signed to a nice contract with the Seahawks. This is not a reverse Jay Cutler situation where Cutty signed on with Fox and then came back to the NFL.

Let’s get to it.

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Peyton Manning comments on possibly calling NFL games with brother Eli

There has been speculation that Peyton Manning and his brother Eli could be a good commentator duo for ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football.’

Tennessee alum Peyton Manning was at the Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday to watch the Volunteers take on Kansas (the Jayhawks won 74-68). During the game, Manning did an interview with ESPN’s Holly Rowe and his brother Eli’s retirement was brought up.

There has been some speculation that Peyton and Eli could be a good commentator duo and Rowe asked Peyton about those rumors.

“Golly, it’d be so hard to get a word in,” Manning said with a big smile. “Eli, we’re always arguing over who’s going to say what. So I’m not sure the two of us would fit in that booth together. But I look forward to doing some fun things with him — in the fall especially — that we haven’t had a chance to do in a long time. He’s at peace so I’m happy about that.”

Peyton and Eli might not end up in a broadcast booth together but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the older brother end up as a commentator at some point. Peyton already has a working relationship with ESPN from his “Peyton’s Places” series, a show that looked back on 100 years of NFL history.

“Peyton’s Places has been a lot of fun to do,” Manning told Rowe. “You get to talk football and nobody hits you in the back, nobody cusses you. It’s a lot more enjoyable, a lot more relaxing. I love the history of the game, it won’t get any bigger than next week’s Super Bowl. It’s been fun to kind of try to tell the history of the NFL the past 100 years.”

Manning, 43, will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.

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We need Eli and Peyton Manning to save ‘Monday Night Football’

We NEED it to happen.

This is a brilliant idea I can’t take credit for — I saw multiple tweets about it and I thought it was perfect.

It’s time for ESPN to back up the Brinks truck and hire both Eli Manning and Peyton Manning to work the Monday Night Football booth.

Seriously! How great is that!?

We all know that the elder Manning brother is incredibly good at breaking down film and explaining it to viewers. Did you see him on the network’s Detail? Imagine him taking all that knowledge and putting it to use between plays, the way Tony Romo does so beautifully in those limited-time moments.

Eli’s probably good at it too. But what he’s mostly in there for is the wisecracking the siblings would do. Both Peyton and Eli have proven they’re hilarious over the years — Peyton’s ESPYs hosting is legendary, both he and Eli were amazing on Saturday Night Live, and Eli’s retiring as the king of NFL pranks.

We’ve seen MNF try to bring the funny into the booth with names like Dennis Miller and Tony Kornheiser, and it’s never quite worked. But what if the booth had two football legends who also happen to be funny? And they’re related! They already have chemistry!!

Make it happen, ESPN. Here are others who agree:

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Tony Romo could reset commentator market for Peyton Manning

ESPN is willing to make Tony Romo the highest-paid sports commentator in TV history. That could be good news for Peyton Manning.

CBS hit the jackpot when they hired former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to serve as an NFL commentator in 2017. Romo has an endearing personality and fans have been wowed by his ability to predict plays.

Romo is arguably one of the top voices in football commentary right now and ESPN has taken note of that. The network is preparing to offer Romo $10-14 million per year to switch to “Monday Night Football.”

ESPN previously tried and failed to recruit Peyton Manning to the broadcast booth. The former Colts and Broncos quarterback is not interested in commentating at this time, likely in part because his brother, Eli, is still an active player.

In 2018, ESPN and Fox both offered Manning up to $10 million per season to call primetime games. After being spurned by Manning, ESPN has apparently shifted its attention to Romo. The network is willing to make Romo the highest-paid sports commentator in TV history.

That’s probably good news for Manning.

If Eli retires soon and Peyton decides he wants to join a broadcast booth, he will have leverage to negotiate a contract similar to Romo’s. Waiting to get into commentating could turn out to be a brilliant financial decision for Manning because Romo appears poised to reset the market.

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