Peyton Manning Rumors: ESPN Prepared to Offer $18M-20M Annually in MNF Contract

ESPN reportedly is willing to pay big to get Peyton Manning into the announcing booth. 

According to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, ESPN is prepared to offer the former quarterback $18-20 million per year to work as its lead analyst for Monday Night Football.

This would eclipse the record set by Tony Romo after he reportedly signed a deal with CBS in late February that will pay him more than $17 million per year, per the New York Post's Andrew Marchand.

Manning has yet to take on an announcing role since retiring after the 2015 season, although he has taken part in an ESPN+ docuseries called Peyton's Places.

A variety of networks have tried to get him into a full-time analyst role in the past few years, with Fox and ESPN trying to bid on his services in 2018. According to Marchand, CBS was planning to offer Manning $10-12 million per year to replace Romo if he left this offseason.

Though Romo stayed, Manning remains an option for ESPN as it tries to upgrade from the current team of Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.

Marchand reported Tuesday the network wants to team Manning with Al Michaels in the booth for Monday Night Football. This would pair the inexperienced former player with one of the most veteran play-by-play announcers available.

Michaels worked on Monday Night Football from 1986-2006 before moving to Sunday Night Football with NBC. His contract with NBC runs for another two years.

Another option could be pairing Manning with a second color analyst, potentially former teammate Jeff Saturday, who already works at ESPN.

If Manning turns down the offer, ESPN could turn to Kurt Warner after he's spent time working in studio for NFL Network. McCarthy also lists Louis Riddick, Matt Hasselbeck and Dan Orlovsky as possible options for the role.