NBC won’t trade Al Michaels away to ESPN.
There had been reports that ESPN was interested in figuring out a way to get Michaels from “Sunday Night Football” on NBC to join “Monday Night Football,” but it’s not going to happen. (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
According to The New York Post’s Andrew Marchand, NBC won’t even “engage” in talks to get rid of Michaels. The reported dream team for ESPN is Peyton Manning and Michaels in the booth together, but that looks like it’s a dead vision as of right now.
This is a smart move by NBC. They can’t let Michaels walk away. They just can’t. He’s arguably the most legendary broadcaster in the game.
After all, let’s remember this is the man who called the Miracle on Ice and gave us one of the greatest lines of all time.
ESPN is also reportedly considering throwing something in the range of $20 million at Peyton Manning to get him in the booth.
If he takes it, they will still need to find a partner for him. With Michaels out of the running, I’m not even sure where they’d go, but they clearly aren’t worried about spending money.
Now, it’s time for plan B for the sports powerhouse. We’ll see where ESPN goes, but I have no doubt they have the resources to get a major name.