Sports Media

ESPN Interested In Al Michaels, Peyton Manning, and Philip Rivers For MNF

Trey Daubert / NFL / March 5, 2020

ESPN wanted Tony Romo badly! That was before CBS came in and dropped the hammer giving Romo a huge extension. ESPN has a new plan for Monday Night Football. Get ready. ESPN wants to trade for Al Michaels who does Sunday Night for NBC. They then want to have him pair with Peyton Manning and or Philip Rivers. They’re not messing around and wants to revitalize MNF.

Andrew Marchand of The New York Post had the news:

“Thinking large and outside the box, ESPN plans to attempt to acquire Al Michaels from NBC Sports for “Monday Night Football,” The Post has learned.
ESPN would like to team Michaels with Peyton Manning in its dream booth, according to sources. Manning is now ESPN’s top choice as analyst after Tony Romo agreed to his 10-year, $180 million deal to remain with CBS last week.
ESPN has also shown interest in free-agent quarterback Philip Rivers, according to sources. Rivers, 38, has said he intends to continue playing. NFL free agency officially begins March 18, but agents can start talking to teams on March 16.
Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland are ESPN’s current MNF team, but the network is strongly considering a change.”

There is a lot to unpack here. Michaels, 75, has two years remaining on his contract with NBC. They could simply turn down the request. They could also request a sizeable figure in a trade for Michaels. If ESPN fails, Marchand also says an Eli and Peyton Manning booth has been talked about but is regarded as unlikely.

ESPN thinks that Peyton Manning will provide the same spark that Romo does for CBS. That remains to be seen. I have no idea if Peyton would be good on TV or not. The good news is Jason Witten and Booger McFarland didn’t raise a high bar.

Tony Romo Signs Massive Extension With CBS

MNF is also interested in Philip Rivers. Where he factors in, I’m not sure. Rivers, 38, wants to keep playing, but maybe a big time offer from ESPN changes his mind. Broadcasting jobs like this on Monday Night Football don’t come around every year. Rivers may be a backup plan for ESPN. Who knows. What we do know is Booger and Tessitore isn’t cutting it.