Drew Brees is planning to launch a career in broadcasting once he is done playing football, and he is the latest big name that ESPN missed out on.
Brees has chosen to sign with NBC Sports over ESPN, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reported on Friday. Brees has agreed to a contract with NBC that will begin once he is done playing for the New Orleans Saints, at which point the network could groom him as a potential replacement for “Sunday Night Football” analyst Cris Collinsworth.
“Like all NFL fans, we look forward to watching Drew continue his Hall of Fame career this fall, and we are confident his post-playing career will be just as successful,” NBC Sports spokesman Greg Hughes told the New York Post.
Brees is expected to begin with NBC as a game analyst for Notre Dame football and a studio analyst on “Football Night in America.” NBC is reportedly planning to have Mike Tirico take over for Al Michaels as its play-by-play announcer following the Super Bowl in 2022, and Brees could partner with Tirico at that point. It’s also possible that Brees and Collinsworth could both be color analysts for NBC if the network adds a second NFL package in the next phase of TV negotiations with the NFL.
Obviously, ESPN appears to once again be the biggest loser in all of this. The network has desperately been looking for a big name to add to its “Monday Night Football” broadcast, and they reportedly made a massive offer to Brees. Marchand reports that ESPN’s offer was in the $6 million range, and Brees gave a counter-offer that ESPN declined. ESPN executives felt the price was too steep and wanted to move forward with a plan that will have a more immediate impact.
ESPN tried to lure Tony Romo away from CBS before the former Dallas Cowboys star signed an extension, and they also made a mammoth offer to Peyton Manning.
There was talk that ESPN could get creative in an attempt to lure Michaels away from NBC, but it is highly unlikely anything will come of that. They will now have to move on to Plan D.
