Saints QB Drew Brees Spurns ESPN and Agrees to Broadcasting Deal With NBC Sports
By Thomas Carannante
In perhaps the most seamless career transition we've ever seen, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees will officially be a broadcaster whenever he decides to end his NFL career.
The bigger news? He spurned ESPN's offer to work on Monday Night Football in favor of Sunday Night Football with NBC Sports.
BREAKING NEWS: Drew Brees has chosen to sign with NBC Sports over ESPN, The Post has learned.https://t.co/Km6thXkZ7m
— Andrew Marchand (@AndrewMarchand) April 10, 2020
ESPN really can't catch a break here. They had Jon Gruden leave for the Raiders, Jason Witten bomb for a quick second, got stuck with Booger McFarland, and now have no Peyton Manning or Drew Brees.
According to reports, Brees will potentially replace Cris Collinsworth in the booth when the time comes. Al Michaels, who has spent years as Collinsworth's partner, will be replaced by Mike Tirico after 2022. The plan seems to be to have Brees ready to take over with Tirico in 2022, though that's NOT AT ALL confirmed.
A key part of this: “In a contract that will begin after Brees retires from the Saints...” Drew Brees’ post-football career is mapped out https://t.co/nzl0W8tmzW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 10, 2020
Brees won't jump into Sunday Night Football action right away, though. When he starts, he'll be a game analyst on Notre Dame football and a studio analyst for “Football Night in America.” That experience will hopefully propel him into the SNF role as the network prepares for TV contract talks with the NFL.