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While ESPN has Drew Brees in its sights after he retires, Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky have emerged as top candidates for next season’s “Monday Night Football” booth, The Post has learned. ESPN hasn’t yet fully decided if it will go with Levy, Orlovsky and/or Riddick, but it is trying to sign Brees …
While ESPN has Drew Brees in its sights after he retires, Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Dan Orlovsky have emerged as top candidates for next season’s “Monday Night Football” booth, The Post has learned.
ESPN hasn’t yet fully decided if it will go with Levy, Orlovsky and/or Riddick, but it is trying to sign Brees now for “Monday Night Football” after he retires. NBC and FOX also have shown strong interest in Brees post-retirement, and are willing to do deals sooner than later.
This offseason, Brees passed on entering television and instead inked a two-year, $50 million deal with the Saints. But this could very well be his final NFL eason, and he could enter the MNF booth afterward.
While Tony Romo received a $180 million, 10-year contract from CBS, ESPN is not using that as the measuring stick in what to offer Brees.
Romo just completed a rookie TV deal with CBS that was for around three years and $10 million. He performed well, had perfect timing this offseason with the NFL TV rights deals up soon and landed the largest contract in sportscasting history.
Brees won’t get what is now known as “Romo money,” though ESPN is offering closer to the $6.5 million neighborhood that Jon Gruden lived in during his final seasons on MNF, according to sources. That would be nearly twice the average of Romo’s rookie contract, and in the zipcode of the around $7 million Troy Aikman receives from FOX.
It also is much less than the $14 million per season ESPN had prepared for Romo if the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback had hit free agency.
ESPN is the highest bidder right now for Brees.
Besides Brees and Romo, ESPN also has held talks with Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers this winter. Manning never made a counter offer to ESPN, while Rivers signed with the Colts.
The website, outkick.com , has mentioned that ESPN is trying to sign Brees post-retirement.
NBC and Fox have been ESPN’s competitors for Brees. The 41-year-old Brees has told network executives that he prefers to do games, which means that NBC could be eyeing Brees for a potential second NFL package. NBC could also try to groom Brees in studio as Cris Collinsworth’s replacement one day far down the road.
NBC just signed Collinsworth’s son, Jac, as a commentator and all indications are they remain very high on keeping Cris long-term. NBC already has a succession plan for Mike Tirico to take over full-time for Al Michaels following the 2021-2022 Super Bowl.
FOX could consider Brees for “Thursday Night Football,” its studio or the No. 2 Sunday team.
For ESPN, the whole situation is somewhat awkward because of the coronavirus and the fact that the company still hasn’t officially said it is replacing its current Monday Night team of Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland.
ESPN’s parent company, Disney, has announced furloughs, which is likely to impact the network — especially with no games being played at this time. ESPN executives, vice presidents on up, have been asked to take percentage paycuts in the short-term.
But Disney is trying to best prepare itself for its negotiations with the NFL as it wants to add even more important games, including the Super Bowl, to its roster, which is why it will sign Brees if he agrees.
With Brees in tow, Disney may receive a little boost in its NFL right negotiations, though, sources have told The Post that the highest bidders will probably win out regardless of their current, respective booths.
Tessitore and McFarland have not yet been informed that they will not be back, though, they both know ESPN has been looking for replacements. ESPN had a dream booth scenario of Michaels and Manning, which did not come to fruition when NBC declined to engage in trade talks for Michaels.
ESPN has not settled on the team of Levy, Riddick and/or Orlovsky. The network might be wise to keep it simple and go with a two-man booth. It should be clear, they do not have the job yet, as there are other options.
ESPN has put the idea of moving its college team of Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit back on the table, but is wary of creating a problem with its national championship duo. They can’t be ruled out, though, just yet.
With Brees on deck, it could be odd for Riddick, Orlovsky or whoever they pick for the booth this year, seeing as a replacement for them in Brees could potentially already be signed before they call a game.
If ESPN were to go with Levy, Riddick and/or Orlovsky, it could put out the carrot that it is hoping to add a second NFL package, which the new crew could potentially lead.
Levy is a homegrown ESPN original, while Riddick and Orlovsky are in the tradition of ESPN’s breakout personalities, like Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas and Herbstreit — guys who have become bigger names on TV than they were as athletes.
ESPN, though, is swinging for the big names, too. FOX has Aikman. NBC has Collinsworth. CBS has Romo. ESPN wants Brees … and is willing to sign him and wait.
