Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms are OUT on CBS Sports NFL pregame show: Legendary quarterbacks leave after 48 combined years with network as Bengals great admits it was ‘more their decision than the mine”

Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms are on CBS Sports’ NFL pregame show, the former NFL MVP and Cincinnati Bengals quarterback revealed on his daily radio show.

“More their decision than maybe mine,” Esiason said of CBS, before naming the executive who brought him to the network. “I was there for 22 years. The guy who hired me in 2001 was Sean McManus, who was the president of CBS Sports… Never in my wildest dreams would this have lasted 22 years. With everyone I’ve worked with with CBS and “NFL Today,” it’s been an incredible ride.

McManus is stepping down as president of CBS Sports this year.

Simms confirmed the news to X, writing: “Great 26 years of racing with CBS SPORTS. Even though this part of my career is over, I’m looking forward to what’s next.

TMZ reports that former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been chosen as his replacement.

Phil Simms (right) and Boomer Esiason (left) were two of the premier QBs of the 80s and 90s

TMZ reports that former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been chosen as his replacement.

McManus’ retirement marks the end of an era for CBS Sports.

Its most significant accomplishments were the NFL’s return to the network in 1998 and its partnership with Turner Sports to host the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

CBS was in many ways in the sports wilderness from 1994 to 1997, when there was no NFL. This decimated the sports division and caused CBS to drop from first to third place in prime time viewership and affiliation changes between major city stations.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who worked for CBS Sports from 1997 to 2008, said there wasn’t a day that went by during his first year that he and McManus didn’t talk about the NFL recovery.

“For someone who just got there, they really trusted him. Sean’s real skill was motivating CBS executives to get the deal done,” he said.

CBS’s winning bid in 1998 was for $500 million a year, and the deal allowed for the recreation of “The NFL Today,” which quickly hired Esiason and Simms.

CBS Sports President Sean McManus brought in Esiason and Simms, but is now retiring

The network’s current deal runs through 2033 at $2.1 billion per season. With the NFL helping to promote programming, CBS once again became the number one network in prime time.

“It’s almost impossible, probably insurmountable, to have a broadcast network without the NFL,” McManus said. “This is what drives all your distribution transactions. It is a promotional vehicle. It is enormous. And I think the current broadcast model is very dependent on sports in general and the NFL in particular.

McManus leaves CBS with all of its critical properties locked in for the long term. In addition to the NFL and March Madness, the NWSL extends through 2027, Big Ten and UEFA Champions League rights extend through the 2029-30 season, while PGA Tour deals and of the PGA Championship do not expire until 2030.

“The time has come,” McManus said. “I think it’s good for the division, and it’s very good for me.”