When ESPN extended its deal with the NFL for the broadcast rights to Monday Night Football through 2021, they agreed to pay the league $1.8 billion, or $105 million per game.
This week, that’s $105 million per win between the combatants, the Vikings and the Giants.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the combined .090 winning percentage of the 1-4 Vikings and 0-6 Giants is officially the worst such record this late in the season in the 44-year history of MNF.
Granted, bad teams can play memorable football — so long as your definition of memorable is flexible. And having a major market team in the middle of a train-wreck season, along with the debut of Vikings quarterback Josh Freeman, should make it a little interesting.
But this is not what anyone at the network would consider a good return on investment.