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Madden Money Was Once Mad Money
And you thought Tony Romo was getting paid well. News broke yesterday that Peyton Manning met with ESPN officials this week. What for you ask?
The “for” is ESPN’s attempt to take the one-year Booger McFarland Monday Night Football analyst experiment out behind the barn and put it down in a merciful way.
Tony Romo, after only his sophomore year in the analyst chair in the NFL on CBS booth next to Jim Nance, is set to earn $17 million per year according to sources close to the deal. Now ESPN, who has been shedding aged employees and bloated salaries for years, wants to up the game of who announces the game and how much they get paid to do it.
How much will it take to get Manning? Will Manning be gotten at all? He has thwarted several attempts to date to entice him to enter the broadcast industry. Sources close to this yet to be agreed to deal place the value at $18-$20 million per season. If true Manning would have Nationwide, ESPN, and a whole lot more cash by his side.
Booger in year one was as forgettable in the booth as Jason Witten’s one and done just one year prior. One of McFarland’s best/worst quotes was “It’s a run/pass option meaning they have the option to run it or pass it.” Got that? Unfortunately, there were too many others.
ESPN needs an MNF spark in the worst way. THE game has become one of the games available in a busy weekly NFL schedule. Long, long gone are the must-see MNF TV days of Howard Cosell, John Madden, and even recently departed Jon Gruden.
Madden, the godfather of NFL broadcasts, made $8.5 million a year in his best year. Adjusted for inflation that equates to $13 million in 2020 money. This latest round has really upped the ante.
Somewhere Troy Aikman is smiling. FOX will need to keep up with the Romo’s and Manning’s won’t they? Or, will they? The seats are getting full and the opportunities are few.
Are you ready for a Monday Night party? Peyton Manning will bring the quips and the party favors. He’ll be able to afford them.