With Troy Aikman's Monday Night Football contract expiring after the 2026 NFL season, ESPN is expected to add a new commentator to pair with Joe Buck beginning in 2027.
ESPN's top choice to replace Aikman is believed to be former Denver Broncos
and Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. However, Manning being the preferred candidate doesn't necessarily mean he's the most likely candidate to land the role.Manning previously turned both Monday Night Football and Thursday Night Football in 2018. He reached a compromise with ESPN in 2021 when Omaha Productions launched the ManningCast, an alternate MNF broadcast featuring Peyton and Eli for select games on ESPN2. It's hard to imagine Peyton leaving
Eli to join ESPN's main broadcast when he has a flexible schedule and can commentate on games from his home on the ManningCast.
So, with Manning seemingly unlikely to replace Aikman, Greg Olsen likely remains the favorite to join Buck on MNF in 2027.
Elsewhere on the television front, Denver's 28-24 win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday drew 28.175 million viewers, making it the most-watched Week 8 game in CBS history.
NFL ON CBS scores its best Week 8 game ever with 28.175 M viewers for Chiefs-Broncos 🔥
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) November 3, 2026
🏆🏆 CBS now has the Top 2 most-watched games this season
🥇 National Game at 4:25 PM is TV’s No. 1 program this season with 25.306 M viewers pic.twitter.com/rAKq8RQ9wV
The Broncos will be back on CBS this weekend when they go on the road to face the Carolina Panthers on Nov. 8.
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This article originally appeared on Broncos Wire: ESPN would like Peyton Manning to replace Troy Aikman on 'MNF' in 2027
