Peyton Manning and his larger than life personality will not be stepping into the “Monday Night Football” booth, Sporting News reported on Monday.
According to Michael McCarthy, the former Indianapolis Colt and Denver Broncos quarterback great chose another direction to work with ESPN.
During their last round of talks, Manning passed on joining Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters in the “Monday Night Football” booth. Instead, the two-time Super Bowl champion opted to host ESPN’s new five-part, 30-episode series, “Peyton’s Places,” debuting on ESPN+ in July.
The 43-year-old’s decision to say no to “Monday Night Football” ends years of back and forth between Manning, who retired from the NFL in 2016, and ESPN management led, by president Jimmy Pitaro.
Manning has many other endeavors. The report does have a bit of a hedge, adding “barring a miracle” Manning won’t be with Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland and Lisa Salters as “MNF” kicks off its 50th season.
That, of course, presumes ESPN will be sticking with Tessitore and McFarland in the booth after a disastrous first season with Jason Witten. The Dallas Cowboys tight end returned to the football field for 2019 after an unsuccessful rookie season as an announcer.
