ESPN Looking To Land Peyton Manning & Al Michaels For "Monday Night Football"

ESPN was unable to pry Tony Romo away from CBS, and the network has reportedly shifted its focus towards two other marquee names for their Monday Night Football broadcast team.

According to a report from Andrew Marchand of the New York Post (he's been all over the Romo news) ESPN is looking to trade for NBC Sunday Night Football play-by-play man Al Michaels, and they're hoping to pair him up with former Pro Bowl quarterback Peyton Manning. Michaels called Monday Night Football games on ABC from 1986 to 2005 before moving over to NBC.

Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports also reported that ESPN is set to give Manning a lucrative offer that would pay him " $18 million to $20 million a year." Romo will earn $18 million annually on the $180 million deal he received from CBS.

Joe Tessitore currently serves as the Monday Night Football play-by-play commentator, with two-time Super Bowl winner Booger McFarland serving as the analyst. Marchand's report says ESPN " is strongly considering a change" on its MNF team.

Mike Tirico, who previously served as the lead voice for Monday Night Football, moved to NBC after the 2015 NFL season. The expectation, per Marchand, is that Tirico will eventually replace Michaels on NBC.

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ESPN wouldn't comment on the matter, and a spokesman for NBC said Michaels "is under contract for the foreseeable future," per Marchand.

Manning retired from the NFL after the 2015 season, and Fox also pushed hard to land him for Thursday Night Football, which he turned down. Given his strong personality and incredibly deep knowledge in the game of football, it's no surprise that the major networks want Manning. It just doesn't seem like he's in a rush to take on such a gig.

Whether or not ESPN finds a way to haul in Michaels and/or Manning remains to be seen. It would certainly be quite the game-changer for the network giant and football fans, though. We'll find out soon enough if Michaels is willing to switch networks, and if Manning is ready for a return to football in an analyst role.

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