After missing out on its prized target for the second straight offseason, the NFL on FOX decided to stay with what works for Thursday Night Football.
Fox Sports announced Monday that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will serve as the broadcast team for all 13 Thursday Night Football games this season, including the two games that will air exclusively on NFL Network. That does not include the four Saturday night games in the package.
Buck and Aikman will remain in their current roles as the lead broadcast team for the traditional NFL on FOX package.
It was not clear how Buck will navigate his Thursday night role during the Major League Baseball postseason. There is a TNF game on the off day between Games 2 and 3 of the World Series and another on the night after Game 7.
According to previous reporting by the New York Post, Fox originally wanted Aikman in a studio role for Thursday night games. The network pursued Peyton Manning for the lead analyst role and reportedly had an interest in NBC’s Mike Tirico on play-by-play.
Buck and Aikman are now the third lead NFL broadcast team to moonlight on Thursday Night Football. NBC’s Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth worked the games in 2016. The lead CBS team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms worked the games from 2014-16, with Tony Romo replacing Simms when he took over the lead role last year.
[Mon. news from Fox Sports]
