ESPN gets its wish, sort of, with Peyton Manning and Eli Manning agreeing to do an alternate megacast for some Monday Night Football games

The Big Lead

For years, Peyton Manning has been. ESPN's "white whale" for the Monday Night Football booth. But instead of landing him for the regular MNF telecast, ESPN has signed Peyton and his younger brother Eli Manning to host an alternate megacast for 10 MNF games on ESPN2 this season -- including the first three MNF games of the season -- with special guests. The Mannings won't actually be on-site at the games. They'll broadcast from a remote location. The deal is for three years and 30 games. On ESPN/ABC, Steve Levy, Louis Riddick Jr. and Brian Griese will continue to handle the traditional broadcasts. The New York Post's Andrew Marchand recently reported that Amazon and NBC were pursuing Peyton Manning for Amazon's Thursday Night Football games that NBC Sports is producing. But ESPN's deal with the Mannings is exclusive, so Peyton Manning won't be able to work on other networks' NFL games.