Andrew Marchand
Eli Manning hesitation helped keep Peyton out of the booth
By Andrew Marchand
April 19, 2018 | 11:51am
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In rejecting Fox and ESPN's primetime broadcast booths, Peyton Manning said he did not want to be a "critic at this point," but there was one player's games in particular, according to sources, whom Manning did not want to be in the booth for: his brother, Eli Manning.
Manning's desire was so strong, there was even talk, according to sources, that if Manning had agreed to do Thursday night games, Fox would try to make it so the Giants did not show up on its primetime schedule.
Fox potentially would have had the logistical power to ask the NFL to make it happen because it could, in theory, keep its Giant games on its NFC-heavy Sunday package.
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. 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.
Manning, who is 42 and presumably has hundreds of millions in the bank, does not need to do anything he is not fully comfortable with — and it is apparent he won't.
His top desire for his future, according to TV sources who have spoken with him, remains running a team, like the Broncos' John Elway does, or being a part-owner like Derek Jeter is with baseball's Marlins.
Peyton and his son, MarshallAP
Calling games is on hold as Manning is content right now being an endorser, making lucrative speeches and appearances, investing and being around his young family.
What is not driving him, at least in talks with broadcast networks, is money, after earning so much as a two-time Super Bowl winner and what seems like an infinity-time commercial endorser.
For "Monday Night Football's" 20-game schedule, ESPN was willing to put Jon Gruden's $6.5 million salary in front of Manning with room to negotiate to probably $7 million, while for Fox's Thursday night 11-game package, Manning could have signed a four-year, $16 million contract, according to sources. Each offer averages around $350,000 per game, which is pretty nice change for a few days of work per week for half the year.
While Manning and his broadcasting agent, Sandy Montag, declined comment for this story, Manning, who commands six figures in speaking engagements, was at the Restaurant Leadership Conference in Phoenix this week. He answered why he wasn't going into the TV booth this fall.
"I don't want to be a critic at this point," Manning said, according to Restaurant Business Magazine.
It is not clear if he ever will. When he first retired in 2016, CBS called and, while talks did not go far, according to sources, Manning could have had Phil Simms' job next to Jim Nantz on the network's No. 1 NFL team before Tony Romo took the seat a year later.
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Networks may grow tired of courting Manning because it appears his heart is not in it. This offseason, Fox looked into borrowing Mike Tirico from NBC to work games, if it would help lure Manning. (At that point, Fox's No. 1 play-by-player, Joe Buck, was out of the question because of his other commitments, but now Fox is negotiating with Buck and Troy Aikman to have them do Thursdays.)
But there are those close to Manning who say no matter what Fox or ESPN did, from money to guaranteeing no Eli games to finding the right play-by-player, Manning would have said no to both Monday and Thursday nights. If true, then it is unclear why he spent weeks and weeks before deciding.
Ultimately, Peyton's post-career playbook is akin to his bopping his head in and out of the line of scrimmage, trying to find the perfect matchup. In broadcasting, he keeps yelling, "Omaha! Omaha! Omaha!" but he never hikes the ball.
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Quick clicks: ESPN's version of "American Idol" continued this week with retired Pro Bowler Jared Allen coming in for a "Monday Night Football" game-analyst tryout, according to sources. The Post previously reported that Rex Ryan and Booger McFarland were due for auditions this week, as well. To say the least, ESPN is casting a wide net.
While Manning said no to Monday night, Brett Favre was informed by ESPN he is no longer under consideration. This is the running list of potential candidates we have heard now: Ryan, McFarland, Allen, Jason Witten, Greg Olsen, Kurt Warner, Matt Hasselbeck, Joe Thomas and Louis Riddick. It would stand to reason that "Countdown" panelists Randy Moss and Charles Woodson may have gotten a look, as well. There are very possibly more. Anyway, the group is a little quarterback-heavy, but you could put a rather solid team on the field with them all.
Dan Patrick has always been a pretty good media critic. He was at it again this week, telling The Big Lead that Amazon will be getting into live game rights. Amazon dipped its toe in the business with NFL Thursday night streaming rights, but, of all the big potential new digital players — Netflix, Facebook, etc. — Amazon probably makes the most sense to possibly make a big play, because of how advertising-based it is and its 100 million paying customers to Prime.
Filed under dan patrick , eli manning , espn , fox , jared allen , peyton manning , sports media
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