Peyton Manning and Eli Manning have been getting a lot of praise for their work on the alternate broadcast of Monday Night Football that’s on ESPN2. But for those who will be looking for them for tonight’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers, they will be very disappointed. The Manning brothers will not have their broadcast tonight because they are only under contract to call 10 Monday Night Football games per season with ESPN. The duo signed a three-year contract that spans 30 games, leading them to take some time off.
Back in August, Peyton Manning talked about what to expect from the broadcast. It is kind of like you are watching the game at a bar and me and Eli show up and watch the game with you,” Manning said to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman at the Hall of Fame game, via quotes distributed by ESPN (per Pro Football Talk).
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“[That] is kind of the theme. We are not going to be in a booth. With my forehead and my neck, I couldn’t fit in a booth. I can fit on my couch at home and Eli can be on his couch. But we are going to watch football. It was just too good of an opportunity — to watch football with your brother, to tell stories, to talk a little football, I am looking forward to it. It is going to be a lot of fun.”
There have been a number of guest to appear on the broadcast with the Manning brothers, and Peyton also talked about how Aikman will be with them for one of the games. “Troy, you are already signed up for the third quarter of Week Three,” Peyton said. “You don’t know it yet. I talked to your agent. We are going to have all kind of guests that love football, like to talk ball, like to have fun. I am looking forward to it.”
The next question is when will Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli return? During the Week 3 game, Peyton announced that they will be back for the Week 7 game between the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks. This means the Mannings will return to action on Oct. 25 and will likely call a few more games before taking some more time off.
