Madden agrees to join 'Monday Night Football'
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- John Madden is joining "Monday Night Football."
The gregarious announcer agreed to a four-year deal with ABC and will team with veteran play-by-play man Al Michaels to form a two-man booth on the show, two industry sources told The Associated Press on Thursday on condition of anonymity.
ABC scheduled a conference call later today to make the announcement.
Madden had one year remaining on his contract with Fox Sports, but that network agreed late Wednesday to free him from that deal.
He and ABC then quickly finished hammering out a contract which is worth about $5 million per season, one of the sources said. Madden could wind up making much more from the marketing opportunities that will arise thanks to his weekly prime-time appearances on ABC.
Madden's arrival almost certainly means the departures of comedian Dennis Miller and color analyst Dan Fouts from "Monday Night Football." Miller was offered the chance to stay on the program in a minor role, one of the sources said.
Madden, who coached the Oakland Raiders to the 1977 Super Bowl championship, had been at Fox since 1994. Before that, he and longtime play-by-play partner Pat Summerall were at CBS, where they were paired in 1981. Summerall said a week before this year's Super Bowl that he and Madden would part ways after calling the game for Fox on Feb. 3.
Mirroring a general trend in television, the ratings for "Monday Night Football" have declined each of the past seven years, including a 9 percent drop this season to a new low average rating of 11.5 (each rating point represents a little more than 1.05 million TV homes). Fox's NFL games averaged a 10.2, down 4 percent from last season, while CBS was steady at 9.5.

doesn't espn still have the contract for sunday night football? why wouldn't they just move fouts and miller over to it?

i was getting used to dennis miller <img border="0" title="" alt="[Frown]" src="frown.gif" />

i hope he ends up somewhere.. maybe he could improve that Best Damn Sports Show Period!

I dont think any one could improve that pitiful excuse for a sports show.