Getty Antonio Brown at an NBA game last year.
On May 9, Richard Deitsch of The Athletic reported that Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland were being replaced in ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast booth, noting that “No decision has been made yet, but that the successors will be internal.”
ESPN is going to have a new Monday Night Football booth. Joe Tessitore and Booger McFarland will not return, via sources. The successors will be internal. No decision has been made yet. Both Tessitore and McFarland will remain in prominent roles at ESPN.
But that hasn’t stopped SportsBetting.ag from giving 100/1 odds on Antonio Brown joining the MNF booth, the longest odds on a list of 13 candidates, a distinction noticed by Devon Clements of SI.
Ex-QBs Dominate the ‘Monday Night Football in 2020’ List
Most of the other prospective color commentators on the list are former NFL quarterbacks, including the favorite, Brian Griese, who is given 3/1 odds.
Other ex-quarterbacks on the menu—many of whom have extensive broadcast experience—include Dan Orlovsky (5/1), Matt Hasselbeck (5/1), Kurt Warner (6/1), Jay Cutler (10/1), Eli Manning (40/1), and Colin Kaepernick (50/1), the latter arguably an even more provocative and controversial figure than Brown—aka ‘Mr. Big Chest.’
Other candidates include ESPN analyst Louis Riddick (5/1), ESPN analyst/color commentator Kirk Herbstreit (7/1) and ESPN’s Bill Barnwell (20/1).
There is one other ex-NFL wide receiver on the list, that being Nate Burleson (10/1), who played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions before moving into broadcasting.
Antonio Brown’s Odds of Joining MNF Should be 1,000/1
To be sure, if Antonio Brown did somehow find his way into the Monday Night Football booth, it would be a reason to tune in—at least for a week or three. There’s simply no telling what Brown would say about players he played with—and against.
The thought of him broadcasting, say, the Steelers’ Monday Night game at Cincinnati in Week 15 is even more next-level, considering his well-publicized fallout with Ben Roethlisberger, not to mention his own history against the Bengals in Cincinnati, most notably being the victim of an infamous Vontaze Burfict hit.
And while ESPN no doubt wants a color commentator who gives casually-interested observers a reason to watch the games, a certain amount of predictability and reliability is a prerequisite for the color commentator job.
Steelers’ fans will never forget how Brown quit on his teammates at the end of 2018, missing practices and a team walkthrough before being deactivated for the season finale against the Bengals, with a playoff spot on the line.
Never mind the fact that Brown still wants to play football, preferably with Tom Brady, though he regards the Baltimore Ravens as an acceptable second choice, or so it seems.
No doubt Antonio would be excited to line up opposite his cousin, Marquise Brown, who is coming off a strong rookie year with the Ravens, contributing 46 catches for 584 yards and 7 touchdowns. To be sure, Brown would be an especially formidable threat in the Ravens’ already high-powered offense. Recall that during his one appearance with the New England Patriots—which came in week 2 last year vs. the Miami Dolphins—Brown caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown.
But alas, Brown, 31, is currently under investigation by the NFL for multiple alleged transgressions, including an alleged assault of a delivery truck driver. Brown needs to be cleared by the league before he can take the field again.
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