USA TODAY Sports
Colts quarterback Philip Rivers knows that Sunday’s game against the Jaguars could be the last game of his career. This can open the door to a new career that, given recent trends, can be almost as profitable.
Michael McCarthy of FrontOfficeSports.com reports that TV networks are looking at Rivers as a potential game analyst in 2021. McCarthy writes that Rivers could become a candidate for second place analyst at FOX, behind Troy Aikman.
Aikman spoke openly about working for a team at some point in his career. If Aikman left FOX, Rivers could quickly become the FOX equivalent of Tony Romo.
Rivers was linked to ESPN before signing a one-year, $ 25 million contract with the Colts as a free agency. ESPN was trying to drastically update its booth, unsuccessfully trying to get Romo off CBS and persuade Peyton Manning to finally embrace a job he seems destined to do, and does very well.
The money is there for Rivers to have a great financial performance. CBS obliterated the curve for Romo, paying him $ 18 million a year to keep him out of ESPN’s clutches.
The NFL is currently negotiating new TV deals with the various networks, and some believe that an announcement about the next wave of contracts could come at any time. Once the fate of each TV package is known, Rivers can then find out which one – if any – fits most in a life that includes being the father of nine children.
Either way, fans would benefit from their involvement in calling up the games. It’s easy to compare him to guys like Romo or to legends of all time like Don Meredith, due to his southern accent. But when you consider the combination of knowledge, experience, passion, genuine interest in the game, work ethic and an effervescent folkloric charm that can make words like “daddy” and “shoot” much more popular than their four-letter equivalents, Rivers could be one of the best to have done this – especially if Manning never does.
Heck (Watch?), Rivers could end up being the guy everyone had been waiting for over a decade: The next John Madden.