Last week, ESPN extended its agreement with Omaha Productions to continue the “ManningCast” (Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli) for one more season through 2024.
In an interview with Axios’ Sara Fischer, Eli Manning said adding another year to the deal with ESPN means Peyton won’t be moving to the regular Monday Night Football broadcast booth or call games for another network.
“I have talked to him about this,” Manning told Fischer. “That shows that we are enjoying this, we’re committed to it, and hopefully, we’ll continue to do it for a while.”
During the conversation, Manning also provided some insight into how he and Peyton prepare for the “ManningCast” each week. The two former NFL quarterbacks don’t just rely on their experience and knowledge of the game, though they do reach out to coaches and quarterbacks who they know. They’re willing to talk, knowing the brothers won’t give away any trade secrets.
“A lot of times, I’ll talk to the beat writer for the team and get someone who’s been there the whole time, kind of knows some scoop, and I’ll have some questions for them,” Manning explained.
Though Eli didn’t say it outright, the extended “ManningCast” control appears to indicate that Peyton won’t be part of any ownership group aiming to buy the Denver Broncos.
Yet ESPN has employed broadcasters who had front-office or consulting roles with sports teams before, such as Alex Rodriguez being a special adviser with the New York Yankees while he was an analyst on Sunday Night Baseball. (Rodriguez will also remain on Fischer’s entire interview with Manning is worth reading, which includes crediting the New York media with preparing him for broadcasting and thoughts on why alternate broadcasts are becoming so popular.
Ian Casselberry is a sports media columnist for BSM. He has previously written and edited for Awful Announcing, The Comeback, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo Sports, MLive, Bleacher Report, and SB Nation. You can find him on Twitter @iancass or reach him by email at iancass@gmail.com.
