After 25-straight years on a lead NFL broadcast team, ESPN NFL analyst Troy Aikman now sees his future in television as a coin flip.
Appearing at an event promoting longtime NFL writer Peter King’s new book, ESPN “Monday Night Football” analyst Troy Aikman said Wednesday that it is “50-50” whether he will continue broadcasting beyond this season. Aikman, whose contract with ESPN expires at the end of the current season, has in recent weeks made increasingly pessimistic public statements about his future with the company.
According to longtime Dallas-Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw, Aikman signaled some level of bewilderment as to his current situation: “I guess I’m still getting my head around how I got to this position.”
Aikman’s contract status became a storyline after the company reached a reported six-year extension with his longtime broadcast partner Joe Buck in September. Shortly after, Aikman said in a podcast interview with sports media writer Richard Deitsch that he had expected an extension of his own prior to the season, and said that he was not sure when or “if” he would reach a new deal.
Behind-the-scenes, the relationship between Aikman and Buck is widely believed to have deteriorated, according to multiple reports — culminating in an off-air argument prior to a recent Bills-Rams game, first reported by Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports earlier this month. Dylan Byers of Puck reported Wednesday that the pair still have “friction” that has lessened “only slightly” after intervention by top ESPN executives.
Since that incident, Aikman has spoken of his exit from ESPN in ever-more-definitive terms. In a single day two weeks ago, he referred to himself as a “free agent” looking forward to his “next landing spot” in a Dallas radio interview, and later told sports media writer Jimmy Traina that he believes ESPN is “gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations.”
This past weekend, Aikman described himself as being in his “last year at ESPN” during an interview with longtime Dallas reporter Mike Fisher. Asked not about his contract status, but about his overall relationship to broadcasting, Aikman said his uncertain future has given him a new appreciation for the job.
“I’m realizing that this is something that could very well be taken away from me,” Aikman said. “And so for the first time, I’m realizing how much — I’ve always enjoyed it, I’ve always known that — but until you risk having something taken away from you, I think you sometimes you tend to maybe take things for granted. So for the first time probably in my career, I’m realizing this is a great profession, it’s been a great ride for me, and I hope it’s not over.”
Paired with his statements at the Peter King event Wednesday, Aikman’s comments over the past week signal far less confidence about his broadcasting future than his invocation of ‘free agency’ two weeks ago. Perhaps not coincidentally, the potential market for his services has narrowed after CBS elected to commit long-term to JJ Watt as its lead NFL analyst.
The CBS job was the most obvious opening for Aikman, as it would have kept him in the Super Bowl rotation. With that possibility no longer open, Aikman may have to compete with Greg Olsen — whose Fox contract is expiring after the season — and potentially Rams coach Sean McVay to fill a role on Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” that is not technically vacant. Amazon reached a contract extension with Kirk Herbstreit this year that, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, allows the streamer the flexibility to move on should a preferred target become available.
Aikman, who has a consulting role with the Miami Dolphins, has already been floated for a possible front office position with the Dallas Cowboys, with the team’s owner Jerry Jones saying that he “could and would” consider his former star QB. While nothing is imminent, Jones told reporters Monday “don’t rule it out, it’s very possible.”
