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Peyton Manning gets mega-offer for a brand new career - report

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It’s no secret that Peyton Manning is being wooed by ESPN and Fox Sports.

Both networks covet the affable former NFL star and are competing to get him into the broadcast booth.

Now we’ve learned just how far they’re willing to go in their courtship, and it’s a whole lot more than flowers and candy.

According to a new report by Michael McCarthy of Sporting News, ESPN and Fox are both willing to pay him up to $10 million a year to work as an analyst on their prime-time NFL games.

ESPN sees Manning as a perfect “Monday Night Football” replacement for Jon Gruden, who left the lucrative position he had held since 2009 to return to coaching with the Oakland Raiders.

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Fox, meanwhile, would love to add him to the team for its newly acquired “Thursday Night Football” broadcasts.

Anything approaching $10 million annually for Manning would be an unprecedented salary for an NFL prime-time analyst. Gruden reportedly was ESPN’s highest-paid employee when he earned about $6.5 million on “MNF.”

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Fox would like to put together a superstar quarterback “TNF” lineup with former Cowboy Troy Aikman on the pregame show handing off to Manning.

Fox is so interested in Manning it’s considering going after his preferred co-host, according to Marchand. He reported Wednesday that the network is weighing whether to try to enlist NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico to host its prime-time NFL games.

Would you like to see Peyton Manning as an analyst on NFL prime-time broadcasts?

“Manning and Tirico developed a strong relationship over the years when Tirico called play-by-play on ‘Monday Night Football,'” Marchand wrote. “The two have stayed in touch even during Manning’s post-playing career.”

It’s unclear whether NBC would allow Fox to borrow Tirico, given that he has displaced Bob Costas as the face of the network’s sports division and just hosted its coverage of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

It’s easy to see why the networks are chasing Manning. In addition to his obvious football smarts, he’s a popular TV pitchman with broad appeal.

The only possible knock on him is his lack of booth experience, and the success of former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo as lead color analyst with CBS Sports last season likely eases any concerns on that front.

“Peyton Manning is Tony Romo with a Super Bowl ring,” a source told Sporting News’ McCarthy. “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.”

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Manning clearly has been enjoying his retirement, and no doubt he’ll carefully consider his next step.

“There are so many things that Peyton can do with his life. I’m sure that’s what he’s weighing right now,” CBS Sports’ Jim Nantz told Sporting News this week. “I believe that he would be capable, if the opportunity came along and he wanted to run an NFL franchise like John Elway, if that was available to him, I think there would be interest, and I think he would be very good at it.

“If Peyton wanted to get into the television business, he’s going to work like everything else he does. He will think everything through, and outwork everyone, and he will be good at it.

“But that’s something he has to weigh right now. I have no insight or knowledge of where that is. I wish him well.”

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Todd Windsor is a senior story editor at The Western Journal. He has worked as an editor or reporter in news and sports for more than 30 years.
Todd Windsor is a senior story editor at The Western Journal. He was born in Baltimore and grew up in Maryland. He graduated from the University of Miami (he dreams of wearing the turnover chain) and has worked as an editor and reporter in news and sports for more than 30 years. Todd started at The Miami News (defunct) and went on to work at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., the St. Petersburg (now Tampa Bay) Times, The Baltimore Sun and Space News before joining Liftable Media in 2016. He and his beautiful wife have two amazing daughters and a very old Beagle.
Birthplace
Baltimore
Education
Bachelor of Science from the University of Miami
Location
Phoenix, Arizona
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics, Media, Sports




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