Peyton Manning turns down lucrative new career
Earlier this month, Peyton Manning rejected ESPN’s overtures as the network tried to woo him into the broadcast booth.
Now he’s spurned another ardent suitor.
Manning has declined Fox Sports’ offer to be lead NFL analyst on its new “Thursday Night Football” package, according to a report Tuesday night from the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand.
Peyton Manning says no again to broadcasting, according to sources. https://t.co/0mtCVCBUZq via @nypostsports
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) March 28, 2018
The future Hall of Famer’s affable personality and deep football knowledge have made him the top target of TV executives.
Fox and ESPN were reportedly willing to offer him as much as $10 million per year to work their prime-time games.
But the 42-year-old Manning has other post-retirement plans right now, mostly centered around spending time with his wife, Ashley, and their young twins, Marshall and Mosley.
He’ll also keep making a lot of money doing commercials for Nationwide, DirecTV and others.
Manning has indicated his long-term goal is to run an NFL team, following in the footsteps of Broncos quarterback-turned-executive John Elway, who signed him in 2012.
Come run the colts Peyton
— Trevor Harlan (@trevor_harlan) March 28, 2018
With Manning out of the picture, Fox is looking to find another big name with similar qualities, but according to Marchand, “The network does not have a clear Plan B.”
He reported Fox is expected to consider Kurt Warner, who is currently with the NFL Network, and it has had three others in for auditions: Cowboys tight end Jason Witten and two recent retirees, quarterback Carson Palmer and offensive tackle Joe Thomas.
Another possibility Marchand named is Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who also auditioned for the ESPN job that Manning turned down: lead analyst on “Monday Night Football.”
ESPN is still looking to replace Jon Gruden, who left the lucrative “MNF” gig for an even more lucrative $100 million contract coaching the Raiders.
In addition to Olsen, the “Worldwide Leader” is also reportedly considering Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Louis Riddick, all of whom currently work for ESPN.
Play-by-play man Sean McDonough is leaving “MNF” for college football, and he’ll reportedly be replaced by Joe Tessitore.
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