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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