After years of being courted by seemingly every major network, Peyton Manning has finally joined a broadcast booth.
Peyton and his brother, Eli, will be featured on an alternate ESPN2 broadcast for 10 “Monday Night Football” games this fall. The partnership makes sense given that Manning already had a working relationship with ESPN from his two streaming shows, “Peyton’s Places” and “Detail.”
ESPN announced that Peyton and Eli have signed up to call games for the next three seasons. The news might be bittersweet for Denver Broncos fans.
On the one hand, many fans will be thrilled to have Manning and his signature sense of humor calling NFL games. On the other hand, a three-year commitment to ESPN might preclude Manning from running an NFL team.
The Broncos might be moving toward a sale, and the possibility of a potential ownership group led by Manning has been a popular idea among fans in Denver. It’s hard to imagine Manning calling NFL games while also running a team, so the dream of him joining Broncos ownership might be dying.
Then again, knowing Manning, it’s possible that he might have included an opt-out clause in his contract with ESPN that gave him the ability to leave “MNF” if an opportunity in the NFL came along. Manning has said numerous times he’s making his post-retirement moves one year at a time.
It’s difficult to speculate on if Manning might have a potential future role with Denver because it’s unclear when (or if) the Broncos will be sold. Right now, the ex-quarterback seems to be committed to ESPN, but time will tell if that could change in the future.
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