Marino told his wife about 'love child' in 2005 but didn't tell CBS

Dan Marino was so desperate to keep his All-American image intact that he told no one but his wife that he had fathered a baby out-of-wedlock with a CBS production assistant back in 2005.  The former NFL quarterback never told his bosses at CBS Sports or even his longtime lawyer-agent about the baby for seven years until Wednesday.

Marino, the shamed CBS Sports football analyst, paid his mistress Donna Savaterre hush money and even signed several lucrative contracts with the network over that period until he confessed about the love tryst that produced the now seven-year-old girl named Chloe,  a source told The New York Post.

"Danny did, as difficult as it was, tell his wife in 2005, when this occurred," said a source close to Marino, referring to Claire Marino, who has six children with the Hall of Famer.

Marino, who has been an analyst for CBS's "The NFL Today" since 2003, kept his longtime lawyer-agent Marvin Demoff on the sidelines while he paid the hush money to Savaterre — amounts that are reportedly in the range of millions of dollars.

"CBS was not involved in any way, shape or form back in 2005," when Marino made the deal with Savaterre using another lawyer," the source said.

When asked about when CBS heard about the affair, a network spokeswoman Jen Sabatelle said, "CBS Sports executives first learned of this yesterday [Wed.]."

The 51-year-old Marino also told Demoff about the hush money deal on Wednesday, telling him he hired other people to handle the payout to Savaterre, now 40.

The Marino source said he believed Marino did not use Demoff to negotiate the deal with his mistress because of "embarrassment" over his adultery.

Marino's explosive scandal comes right before CBS is set to broadcast Super Bowl XLVII on Sunday in New Orleans.  The network said Marino will still be a part of the Super Bowl pre-game show.

"Dan has said all there is to say on this matter and he'll be in his usual role on our broadcast Super Bowl Sunday," Sabatelle told USA Today.

Dan Marino involved in shocking 'love child' scandal

Despite a longtime marriage and and respectable image,  NFL Hall of Famer Dan Marino is involved in the shocking revelation that he fathered a "love child' with a CBS network underling and then paid her millions of dollars to keep quiet.

Marino, who will be broadcasting this Sunday's Super Bowl in New Orleans for CBS, reportedly got  Donna Savattere, a then 35-year-old production assistant at CBS Sports' Manhattan studio, pregnant, according to an exclusive story in The New York Post.  She gave birth in June, 2005.

"They had an affair, and she had a baby," said a source.  "Everything was on the down-low and secretive."

At the time of the affair, the ex-Miami Dolphins quarterback was married to his wife, Claire, for 20 years.

The 51-year-old Marino agreed to pay Savattere millions to care for the child named Chloe, said sources.  She moved to Texas as part of the deal.  It was not disclosed exactly how much he paid but Savattere has apparently been living large and was a fixture on the Hamptons social scene, said The Post.

Yesterday, Marino — who has six kids with his wife —  owned up to the dalliance.

"This is a personal and private matter. I take full responsibility both personally and financially for my actions now as I did then," Marino told Page Six of The Post. "We mutually agreed to keep our arrangement private to protect all parties."

Marino said the marriage was still intact, despite the the affair and baby.

"My wife and I have been married for almost 30 years and have six children together," he wrote yesterday — which happens to be their 28th wedding anniversary.

Sources said Marino was in touch with the 7-year-old Chloe.

"They would have impromptu meetings, as was part of the deal," a source said.

Savattere later married Nahill Younis, whom she met in 2009.

The birth of the baby Chloe came about two months before Marino was inducted into the Hall of Fame — where his son Daniel paid a moving tribute to his father.

Marino, a pre-game analyst with CBS since 2003, will be doing the Super Bowl broadcast this Sunday.