CBS Dropping $17M/Yr on Tony Romo, More Than Doubling Previous Record; Disney Pivots to Manning…
Breaking: Tony Romo and CBS have agreed to a deal that will make him the highest NFL analyst in TV history in a deal that will pay him around $17 million per season, according to sources.
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) February 29, 2020
Story up shortly.
Who would have thought NFL broadcaster free agency would be so much better than what involves the actual players this season…? CBS is diving deep into those loaded pocket books to make Tony Romo the highest paid broadcaster in NFL history ($17M/yr), more than doubling the previous record set by John Madden ($8M/yr).
Andrew Marchand (owner of the tweet embedded above) is reporting the deal to be long term, worth a minimum of 5 years and totaling over $100 million.
According to the his Marchand’s article, Disney (owner of ABC and ESPN) was on the verge of pushing $20M/yr toward Tony Romo once he was able to negotiate with other companies, starting in March. ESPN vehemently denies these rumors but they were enough to scare CBS into dropping big time money.
Like the article states much more professionally than I am about to, what the fuck is $17M/yr when you spend billions on your NFL during that same time. It’s a smart investment. The best broadcasters can make you way more than you will ever have to pay them.
After losing out on the Romo sweepstakes before they really even got started, Disney is now going to plan B, which sounds like it will be a lot better than whatever genius inspired their 2019 coverage… which featured Joe Tessitore plus Booger McFarland, playing an over-exaggerated version of that parent who insists on using the biggest iPad possible to record all 40 minutes of their kid riding the bench…
Instead, Disney will lock in on Peyton Manning. Finally, a good decision out of ESPN. I haven’t seen them do something that makes this much sense since they launched Barstool Van Talk (which was cancelled after one record-breaking episode).
The first call is likely to be to Peyton Manning, asking if this is finally the year he wants to try to be an analyst.
With the money Disney was planning to offer Romo and with what Romo is being paid by CBS, Manning would have to listen. If Manning says no, ESPN would have to move to Plan C. ESPN was thinking big with the Romo and the Super Bowl, but CBS had the initial foresight to sign Romo — and they refused to let him go.
Andrew Marchand – New York Post
Everyone loves Peyton Manning and, without seeing it actually unfold in the broadcast booth yet, I can imagine him being even better than Romo. I don’t think Peyton Manning has ever failed at anything. He makes great commercials, great pizza, and even plays one hell of a quarterback.
We’ll see if ESPN can buy Manning’s love. If/when they are able to lock him down, or even if they have to go to plan C for their color commentary, the play-by-play decision should be easy…
Kevin Harlan’s broadcasting career is Minnesota-raised too, so you know his intangibles are off the charts:
Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan
More About:Minnesota Vikings
You Might Like:
