Eli Manning was a big reason why Peyton turned down ESPN and Fox - report
Retired quarterback Peyton Manning has been a highly sought-after commodity by networks trying to convince him he should turn his attention to the broadcast booth.
Immediately following Manning’s retirement in 2016, CBS was reportedly ready to give him Phil Simms’ spot on the network’s No. 1 NFL broadcasting team. Manning decided against it, though, and former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo ended up taking the role.
Moreover, throughout the current offseason, both Fox and ESPN have courted Manning.
ESPN is said to have been willing to pay him between $6.5 and $7 million per year to take Jon Gruden’s spot on the “Monday Night Football” booth. Fox, meanwhile, would have paid him $16 million over four years to be part of its Thursday night team, according to the New York Post‘s Andrew Marchand.
However, Manning wasn’t interested, and his brother, New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, might have been part of the reason why.
Per Marchand, who cited multiple sources, Manning was strongly opposed to covering games in which Eli’s Giants were playing.
The retired quarterback felt so strongly about this that Fox was reportedly willing to pull some strings in an attempt to appease him.
“For Peyton, not doing Eli’s games was not necessarily a deciding factor in turning down Fox and ESPN, according to sources, but it was part of the process,” Marchand reported.
“What it does show is Peyton’s hesitancy to go into broadcasting because, if he had called a Giants game, it would have been a novel event, and no one would have expected him to rip his brother on national TV.”
For right now, at least, it appears as though Peyton does not want to pursue a broadcasting career.
Of course, he’s already made many millions of dollars from endorsements and NFL contracts, so it’s not as if he needs the money. Plus, he can still earn considerable sums making speeches and doing commercials.
Manning wouldn’t comment for Marchand’s story, but when asked at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Phoenix this week why he decided against joining a broadcasting booth, he said, “I don’t want to be a critic at this point.”
And as for what’s next, Manning appears to be content with what he’s doing right now.
“Look, I have enjoyed doing some different things that I never have had a chance to do,” he said Wednesday at his Colorado Sports Hall of Fame induction, according to the Denver Broncos team website. “I still feel busy and still feel stimulated doing these things and obviously have a little bit more control over my time, which is important. I really have enjoyed these last two-and-a-half years.”
“If I take a job, I’m sure you’ll probably hear about it somewhere along the way,” Manning stated.
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