In what would be a seismic move, ESPN is reportedly on the goal line of poaching longtime FOX NFL analyst Troy Aikman.
Aikman is in deep negotiations to join ESPN as its lead Monday Night Football analyst, the New York Post reported Wednesday. The move would end Aikman’s two-decade run with FOX, most of which has been spent as the network’s lead NFL analyst alongside Joe Buck.
Louis Riddick and Brian Griese are ESPN’s current Monday Night Football analysts. They were preceded in that position by Booger Macfarland and, for one ill-fated season, Jason Witten.
The potential Aikman-ESPN deal comes as the stakes are raised for Monday Night Football. ESPN’s new deal with the NFL includes a number of split ABC-ESPN doubleheaders, a Divisional Round game and a Super Bowl every four years. No longer is the ESPN slate limited to a number of low-wattage games and the worst window of Wild Card weekend.
Aikman has long been mentioned as a serious contender for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football package, likely working alongside Al Michaels. It is not clear whether Aikman moving to ESPN would change the calculus for Michaels, who has long been pursued by ESPN to return to the role he held for years on Monday nights. Per the Post, Michaels “hoped” to have Aikman as his partner on Thursday games.
[News from NYP 2.23]
