Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms are OUT at CBS Sports after a combined 48 years with the network as former Falcons QB Matt Ryan joins ‘The NFL Today’ studio show

Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms will be 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, 63, said of CBS, before naming the executive who brought him to the network. ‘I had been there for 22 years. The guy who hired me in 2001 was named Sean McManus, the chairman of CBS Sports…I would never have in my wildest dreams lasted 22 years. “With all the people I worked with on CBS and the ‘NFL Today,’ it was a great run.”

McManus is stepping down as chairman of CBS Sports this year, which may have prompted the departures of Simms and Esiason.

Simms, a 68-year-old two-time Super Bowl winner with the New York Giants, confirmed the news on X: “Great 26-year run with CBS SPORTS. Even though that part of my career is over, I’m looking forward to the future.”

Former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has been selected as a replacement, CBS Sports announced Monday.

TMZ reports that former Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan has been selected as his replacement.

“I grew up watching ‘The NFL Today,’ so I’m honored to join this iconic show and hope to continue the high standards set by Phil, Boomer and others before me,” Ryan said. “I’m grateful for this exciting new opportunity and can’t wait to get started with my new teammates.”

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

His major accomplishments were bringing the NFL back to the network in 1998 and partnering with Turner Sports to host the NCAA tournament in 2010.

CBS was in many ways active in the sports world from 1994 to 1997, when it did not yet have the NFL. It decimated the sports division and vaulted CBS from first to third in primetime ratings and affiliate changes in major cities.

Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti, who worked at CBS Sports from 1997 through 2008, said not a day went by during his first year when he and McManus didn’t talk about getting back into the NFL.

“For someone who just arrived, they really trusted him. “The real skill was Sean getting CBS leaders motivated to close the deal,” he said.

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

Simms (left) and Esiason (right) were among the best quarterbacks in football in the 1980s

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

(From left) Simms, Brown, Cowher, Burleson, Watt and Esiason are seen at Super Bowl LVIII

The network’s current deal runs through 2033 and costs $2.1 billion per season. With the NFL helping to promote its programming, CBS returned to the top primetime network.

“It’s almost impossible, probably insurmountable, to have a broadcast network without the NFL,” McManus said. ‘It’s the driving force behind all your distribution deals. It’s a promotional vehicle. That’s huge. And I think the broadcast model today is very dependent on sports in general and the NFL in particular.”

McManus leaves CBS with all its critical assets locked up for the long term. In addition to the NFL and March Madness, the NWSL runs through 2027, the Big Ten and UEFA Champions League rights run through the 2029-30 season, while the PGA Tour and PGA Championship deals don’t expire until 2030.

“The timing is right,” McManus said. “I think it’s good for the division, and very good for me.”