ESPN spent three years courting Peyton Manning to their Monday Night Football booth to no avail, now they might be turning their sights to another future Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees.
Like Manning, bringing Brees to ESPN could be a multiyear recruitment process considering he recently signed a two-year contract with the New Orleans Saints. But according to Clay Travis of Outkick the Coverage, ESPN already made an eight-figure offer to Brees, attempting to land the popular personality before hitting the free agent market as a broadcaster.
Brees is the third quarterback this offseason that ESPN has reportedly been willing to give an eight-figure salary to. The Worldwide Leader made a run at Tony Romo, who ultimately re-signed with CBS, earning the richest analyst deal in NFL history at around $17 million per year. ESPN was also reportedly interested in giving Manning between $18-$20 million, but it’s unclear if a formal offer was made.
Signing Brees as a broadcaster-in-waiting while he finishes out his NFL career would be a potentially odd dynamic for ESPN’s current Monday Night Football crew. Whether they continue with Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland or make a change prior to the 2020 NFL season, ESPN’s team of MNF broadcasters would know a shakeup is looming with Brees on the radar.
While neither Manning nor Brees have worked as a game analyst, they’re both considered to have tremendous potential in the booth. Romo’s success with CBS showed networks that a player could step into the broadcast booth and become an instant star. But Romo’s success could also be a deterrent for Manning and Brees.
If either quarterback joins a network as a game analyst, they would both instantly be compared to Romo. Both Manning and Brees were more successful than Romo on the football field, but the former Cowboys’ quarterback has already built a broadcasting resume that will be tough to top.
