A week ago, we were pondering the salary cap implications it would have on the New Orleans Saints if Drew Brees shocked the world and decided to come back and play in the 2021 season. Instead, as expected, Brees announced his retirement, but it's created a domino-effect in another industry.
Last April, Brees agreed to a deal to join NBC. At the time, Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reported that the network would prepare Brees "as the potential replacement of Cris Collinsworth," the network's color commentator on Sunday Night Football.
Given that he's retired, Brees now is an employee of NBC. Initially, NBC says that the 42-year-old will work on the pregame show before Sunday Night Football, "Football Night in America." In addition to that, he'll be part of the network's coverage of Notre Dame football games and the Olympics.
But the elephant in the room is that Brees now works at NBC, as Collinsworth prepares for another season alongside Al Michaels in the SNF booth. The network made sure to say that currently, Collinsworth is in his role and NBC isn't considering replacing him.
“Cris remains among the very best who’ve ever done it and the plan is to keep him in that chair for a long time,” NBC Sports executive producer Sam Flood told Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated. “The opportunity down the road is not something we’re looking at right now.”
Of course, there was never any thought that Brees would replace Collinsworth in 2021. In what many expect will be the final season of Al Michaels' illustrious career, NBC will broadcast Super Bowl LVI. After that, though, things get a bit murkier.
At 76, Michaels is still one of the sporting world's elite broadcasters. Perhaps he'll choose to hang around longer than just next season. If not, NBC has employed Mike Tirico since May of 2016, and it's the worst-kept secret in the world that the former Monday Night Football announcer will eventually succeed Michaels.
Michaels scaled back his schedule in 2020, giving Collinsworth and Tirico more opportunities to work together. It may be that come 2022, Tirico replaces Michaels and the rest of SNF stays intact.
Still, it's hard not to notice what NBC will have Brees doing from the jump. The play-by-play announcer for NBC's broadcasts of Notre Dame Football is Tirico. He also leads the network's Olympic coverage and hosts "Football Night in America." Brees being involved with all three will give the network a chance to see what the future Hall of Fame quarterback's chemistry with Tirico is like.
Remember, ESPN was vying to land Brees before he agreed to join NBC. It's fair to assume that the worldwide leader would have immediately put Brees into the Monday Night Football booth. Brees choosing NBC over ESPN may have been financially motivated, but such a reality suggests that the network's long-term plans include something bigger than Notre Dame Football and Olympic coverage.
It is normal for networks to make sure that they are always acquiring new talents. It gives them leverage in contract negotiations with high-priced employees, and gives them an insurance policy if anyone departs for another network. That said, Collinsworth - who once was utilized on NBC's Olympic coverage as well - is only 62. He succeeded John Madden in 2009, and it stands to reason he could work in the booth for at least 15 more years. For whatever critics Collinsworth may have on the internet, he's highly thought of in the industry, so it's a bit perplexing that NBC has begun to lay the groundwork for him to be replaced at some point.
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