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- Mar 19, 2019
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It’s widely been believed that Peyton Manning has resisted taking a TV analyst job because he doesn’t want to have to analyze his brother, Eli. What has widely been believed is now being officially reported.
Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reports, citing two unnamed sources close to Peyton Manning, that he passed on the chance to become the lead analyst for Monday Night Football because this year’s schedule includes a pair of Giants games.
Although there’s no guarantee Eli will actually be playing quarterback for the Giants come Week Nine vs. the Cowboys or Week 14 at the Eagles, Peyton also is reportedly hesitant to analyze/criticize any of his former teammates.
“If he ever decides [Monday Night Football] is something he wants to do, it’s going to be after Eli has finished his career and he gets a little bit further from his era of playing and maybe some of his teammates have moved on, too,” one of the unnamed sources told Robinson. “It would have been a tough position for him this season, with the Giants [and Broncos] being on the schedule. There is a lot of loyalty there for him and I don’t think he’d ever want to be in a position where he’d be conflicted about his analysis. It just wouldn’t have been a comfortable situation this year.”
Peyton Manning basically said that last month, when he explained his thought process at the Manning Passing Academy.
“It’s great to have someone that you’re so close to, that you feel invested in, to watch [Eli] play and compete,” Peyton Manning said, via Robinson. “I know when Eli stops playing, it will be different, because when you have a brother, you feel a part of it. I pull hard for Eli. I keep up with the coaches, guys like Adam Gase, who I played for, [and] players, like Emmanuel Sanders and Von Miller, that I played with. Anybody that you have a connection to, you feel that connection when you watch him play in person or on TV. So I’ve been real proud of Eli and I’m looking forward to watching him play this year.”
It’s one thing for Peyton to wait until Eli and Sanders and Miller stop playing; if Peyton plans to resist becoming a broadcaster until Gase is done coaching, Peyton could be waiting a while.
Regardless, Peyton is willing to wait — even if it means that the networks won’t wait for him. (Spoiler: They will.) He added another quote last month that could be interpreted as a backhanded slap at the football focus during his playing career of a former quarterback who has quickly mastered the craft of analyzing games.
“I saw where Tony Romo said that he always knew that he wanted to be a broadcaster,” Peyton said last month, via Robinson. “Well, I always knew I wanted to be a football player. That’s all I knew. I was all-in on that job. I didn’t think about anything else while I was playing. And I think that’s a good way to be. I think you’ve got to be all-in on what you’re doing.”
For Peyton, the networks will be ready whenever he’s ready to go all-in. And whenever he says the word, one or more of those networks will be ready to go all-in on Peyton, turning upside down if need be whatever arrangements they currently have to accommodate someone who many believe will instantly become as good as anyone who has ever done the job, if not better.