Peyton Manning Definitely Used 'The Match' to Prove He's Worth a Monster Network Contract

"The Match II" featuring Tiger Woods and Peyton Manning versus Phil Mickelson and Tom Brady seriously lived up to the hype on Sunday afternoon. While yes, the main factor can be attributed to the lack of competition from other professional sports leagues, we're not going to take away from how much of a joy it was to watch.

Perhaps the highlight of the five-hour contest was Manning's commentary. Maybe, just maybe, he used this golf outing as an audition for a future broadcasting role.

Football fans knew how entertaining the former Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos quarterback was throughout his 17-year career. From his dry sense of humor during press conferences, to his lauded Saturday Night Live hosting gig, we all knew that Manning had the chops to make it into the entertainment business.

But on Sunday afternoon, he was just on a roll for all 18 holes. He took ruthless verbal jabs at Brady, had hilarious exchanges with the TNT broadcast crew, and even took shots at the Georgia Bulldogs football program. Most importantly, Manning single-handedly won over the casual sports fan who normally doesn't watch golf! That's truly an impressive feat considering the sport's notoriously mellow commentary.

We can't forget, however, that a couple of months ago Manning turned down a lucrative offer from ESPN to be the voice of Monday Night Football. The network has pursued him for years to be Jon Gruden's replacement in the booth, but they just couldn't win him over.

Yet, as we watched "The Match II," it really seemed like Manning was auditioning for his post-retirement gig as a color commentator. Was Manning using his charity golf outing to raise his price tag for the major sports networks? If so, it's a genius ploy by the former five-time NFL MVP.

Watch out Tony Romo. You might not be the highest paid football commentator for much longer.