Future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning has been a sought after name this offseason for ESPN's Monday Night Football, but he has decided to turn them down again.
According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Manning was offered the lead analyst job, but he has turned that down.
Manning does have a good working relationship with ESPN in already doing two shows that appear on ESPN+. Manning was expected to be offered a deal close to what Tony Romo has with CBS, but it's unclear the exact number offered.
ESPN had also hoped to go after Romo, and according to New York Post sources, they wanted to offer him 10 years for $140 million. Romo never entered the open market though, as CBS signed him to a 10-year deal for $180 million.
The hope for ESPN was to pair up Peyton Manning and Al Michaels, who still has two years left on his deal with NBC. There was some hope that ESPN could work out some sort of trade with NBC, but it wasn't something NBC was too keen on doing.
Play-by-play announcer Joe Tessitore and analyst Booger McFarland are still technically in the role, and with ESPN striking out on Manning, maybe they will be the guys on the call again next season. However, they can't feel great about how this offseason has gone.
Maybe ESPN could wait or year or two in hopes that Drew Brees or Phillip Rivers will retire and have an interest in taking over the role.
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