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ESPN Could Offer Peyton Manning $20 Million

“Two years ago, Manning was expected to receive offers of up to $10 million annually to join Monday Night Football, but he decided against any broadcasting gig.”

Brandon Contes

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Tony Romo’s $17 million per year salary from CBS is a record deal for an NFL analyst, but it might not stand for long. According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, ESPN is prepared to offer Peyton Manning between $18 million and $20 million to join their Monday Night Football booth.

In year three of their courtship, we can officially dub Manning ESPN’s white whale. Two years ago, Manning was expected to receive offers of up to $10 million annually to join Monday Night Football, but he decided against any broadcasting gig. 

In 2019, ESPN was again rumored to want Manning for MNF. $10 million a year would have been a record for an NFL analyst as recently as a week ago, but now turning down those offers appear to have been an astute business decision.

After the success of Tony Romo’s first season as an analyst for CBS in 2017, ESPN was burned when they tried to turn Jason Witten into the next great rookie broadcaster. Witten’s one season in the booth was a failed experiment, but it hasn’t soured them on the idea of adding a first-time broadcaster. Manning has always looked comfortable in front of the camera, leading many to believe his personality and popularity can attract viewers to the broadcast regardless of the matchup on the field.

Shortly before McCarthy’s report of a $20 million offer heading Manning’s way, Andrew Marchand of The New York Post shared news that ESPN was hoping to lure both Peyton and Al Michaels to MNF. Michaels is still under contract with NBC, complicating their dream broadcast booth scenario.

It’s unclear if Manning would be interested in joining ESPN without Michaels, but $20 million per year has to at least be intriguing, even for a two-time Super Bowl champ that earned $250 million as a player. 

ESPN’s current Monday Night Football crew featuring Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland is considered to be the least appealing lead broadcast team in the NFL. ESPN’s MNF contract with the NFL is set to expire after the 2021 season, and if anything, they hope to increase their football offerings by joining the Super Bowl rotation. Having a more appealing team of broadcasters certainly won’t hurt their chances.

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ACC Network Adds Chelsea Gray as Women’s Basketball Analyst

“I’m honored to be coming back home to the ACC. This conference proves its greatness year after year and I’m thrilled to be a part of it again.”

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ACC Network just added another talent to its growing roster, this time adding three-time WNBA champion and former Duke Blue Devil Chelsea Gray as a women’s college basketball analyst.

Gray will make her ACC Network debut on Sunday, Dec. 10 when her alma mater takes on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles live at Cameron Indoor Stadium at noon E.T.

“I’m honored to be coming back home to the ACC,” Gray said. “This conference proves its greatness year after year and I’m thrilled to be a part of it again.”

This won’t be Gray’s first rodeo when it comes to live game analysis. During the 2021-22 season, Gray was a key member of ACCN’s Nothing But Net studio coverage. She also called seven regular season games and three NCAA Tournament games throughout the year.

Along with her on-screen duties, Gray still plays as a member of the Las Vegas Aces, where she helped guide the team to back-to-back WNBA Championships in 2022 and 2023.

“We are very excited to welcome Chelsea back to the ACC Network as a game analyst. She’s competed and won championships at the highest level so her experience and knowledge of the game will be such an asset to our already strong women’s basketball coverage,” said Sara Gaiero, vice president of production at ESPN.

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Prime Video, Premier Boxing Champions Agree to Multiyear Rights Deal

“With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

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Amazon Prime Video and Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) just announced a multiyear rights agreement, which will deliver year-round boxing championship matchups featuring some of the sport’s biggest stars.

Prime Video will distribute PBC’s industry-leading pay-per-view (PPV) events in the U.S., with the first event anticipated for March 2024. PBC PPV fights will be available for all viewers to purchase, regardless of Prime membership. Additionally, in the U.S. and select countries, Prime Video will exclusively stream a PBC Championship Boxing series of events, showcasing top matchups among boxing’s current and rising stars.

“We are thrilled to join with Premier Boxing Champions to bring the best boxers in the world to Prime Video, and to give more fans than ever the chance to experience these must-see events,” said Marie Donoghue, VP of U.S. sports content & partnerships, Amazon. “With live coverage of PBC action throughout the calendar year, Prime Video continues to bring viewers in the U.S. and around the world the best in sports.”

Some past matchups hosted by PBC include David Benavidez vs. Caleb Plant, Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs. Ryan Garcia, Errol Spence vs. Terence Crawford, and Canelo Alvarez vs. Jermell Charlo. Details on specific cards, dates, and locations will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the live PBC events, Prime Video will continue to grow its Original sports content offerings, with behind-the-scenes PBC docuseries, live weigh-ins, and on-demand access to previous events, highlights, archival footage, and more.

“Premier Boxing Champions is very proud to partner with Prime Video to showcase our world-class boxers and events. With Prime’s incredible reach and unprecedented marketing power, we’re very excited to reach new audiences for our sport as we continue to present the most exciting, competitive and biggest fights in Boxing,” said Bruce Binkow, CEO, Integrated Sports, exclusive agency for PBC.

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ESPN, TNT NBA Collaboration ‘First Step’ in Bigger Partnership, Execs Say

The two companies will cross promote the NBA In-Season Tournament during Thursday’s programming.

Jordan Bondurant

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The inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament concludes in Las Vegas this weekend, and one of the unique elements of the semifinals tonight will be the crossover coverage between TNT and ESPN.

ESPN will have the first semifinal of the evening. The game tips off at 5 PM Eastern. Mike Breen and Doris Burke will be joined by Reggie Miller on the broadcast. Lisa Salters will be the sideline reporter for the game.

For TNT’s game at 9 PM Eastern, Kevin Harlan and Candace Parker will be joined by Doc Rivers. Allie LaForce will handle sideline reporting.

Additionally, both networks are going to collaborate for extended segments in their respective pregame show windows. Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal will join ESPN NBA Countdown with Malika Andrews, Stephen A. Smith, Michael Wilbon, Bob Myers and Adrian Wojnarowski before the early game. Everyone will get together again when Inside the NBA gets viewers ready for the late game.

Font Office Sports reported that as the NBA prepares to negotiate a new media rights deal with both ESPN and Warner Bros. Discovery, network leaders see other chances for crossovers down the road.

“This is the first step in something that potentially could create other opportunities [in] the future,” TNT Sports executive vice president and chief content officer Craig Barry said.

ESPN head of event and studio production David Roberts said something similar.

“This is just a starting point,” he said.

The NBA’s current media rights contract concludes at the end of the 2024-25 season.

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