The four-letter network is reportedly planning to swing for a 400-foot fence.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that ESPN would like to pair NBC’s Al Michaels with Peyton Manning in the Monday Night Football booth. NBC spokesman Greg Hughes, however, told Marchand that Michaels “is under contract for the foreseeable future.”
Marchand also reports that Michaels was the first choice to pair with Tony Romo, who recently decided to remain at CBS.
Michaels’ contract, per Marchand, runs through the end of the 2021 season, which will be capped by a Super Bowl in L.A. The Monday Night Football contract also runs through 2021.
Things could get interesting in 2021, if (as some believe) Monday Night Football moves back to ABC. But two years is a long time from now in this business. For now, as ESPN tries to find a Plan B for Romo, a 2020 pairing of Peyton and Al Michaels currently looks like a miracle in which no one should believe.