Report: ESPN, Fox willing to pay Peyton Manning $10M per year

Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning watches a video tribute as his No. 18 jersey is retired at a halftime ceremony during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on Oct. 8.
Former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning watches a video tribute as his No. 18 jersey is retired at a halftime ceremony during a game against the San Francisco 49ers at Lucas Oil Stadium on Oct. 8.
ESPN and Fox Sports are prepared to open the checkbook and write seven zeroes in the dollar column as a means to lure Peyton Manning into their respective broadcast booths. Both networks are so interested in getting the five-time NFL MVP to call their respective Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football games that they're willing to pay him $10 million annually, The Sporting News reported, citing a source. By comparison, former ESPN Monday Night Football analyst Jon Gruden received $6.5 million per year as of 2015, according to author Jim Miller. For his part, Manning has not declared that he wants to return to television -- outside of his numerous commercials -- but that hasn't stopped the talk outside of the broadcast booth. "Peyton Manning is Tony Romo with a Super Bowl ring," the source said, per The Sporting News. "This is a battle for the Midwest. He's super-popular in the Midwest. He's got this 'Aw Shucks,' thing down pat. The Mannings are the first family of football." Fox Sports signed a five-year, $3 billion deal for Thursday Night Football, with the network to pay $550 million a year through 2022, according to SportsBusiness Daily. ESPN's Monday Night Football booth has yet to replace Gruden, who has since re-joined the Oakland Raiders as their head coach. The New York Post previously reported that Manning could slide next to current play-by-play broadcaster Sean McDonough, although he could be replaced by Joe Tessitore, Steve Levy or Dave Pasch should the network do a total reboot of the Monday Night Football booth. ESPN executive Stephanie Druley told SI.com in January that "We like Peyton Manning. And we would be foolish not to talk him." Manning retired from playing football after the 2015 season. The 41-year-old Manning walked away from the NFL as the league's all-time passing leader with 71,940 yards and 539 touchdown passes. He won two championship rings -- one with the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLI and another with the Denver Broncos during his final season in Super Bowl 50.

Latest Player Notes

How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day

Mar 15, 2024 Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...

Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day

Mar 15, 2024 Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...

How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects

By Andy Yamashita Seattle Times staff reporter Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...

Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team

Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...

College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond

The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...

Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback

San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...

Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall

Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...

Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather

CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...

Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense

Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...

Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game

With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...
See More Player Notes