Troy Aikman Went on Dallas Sports Radio And All But Confirmed He's Leaving ESPN After The Super Bowl 61 Broadcast With Joe Buck And We're Set For Five Months Of NFL TV Intrigue
Troy Aikman this morning on @dfwticket about rumors of tension between him and Joe Buck. “There’s probably a time and a place for all that. I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened. I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”
Well, shit, that didn't take long.
About 12 hours after Ryan Glasspiegel reported that Joe Buck and Troy Aikman got into an argument before Monday Night Football this week, Aikman went on Dallas Sports Radio and all but confirmed it. And basically said he's gone from ESPN at the end of the season when asked about the situation.
“There’s probably a time and a place for all that. I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened. I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”
What a fucking mess for ESPN.
You have one of, if not the best, booths in the NFL (second to Tirico/Collinsworth, IMO). You give Joe Buck all that money (6 years, $108 million). And apparently you piss off Aikman so much in his own negotiation that the story of Monday night's spat gets out there for everyone to read about, and then Aikman goes on the radio the next day and tells the world he's leaving ESPN. HA.
Aikman didn't run from it, didn't try to deflect or deny it - he basically confirmed it and let all the other networks know he'd be available.
Like, of course ESPN won't have trouble finding a good partner for Buck, but what a terrible job of handling it.
Now you have, checks notes, FIVE MONTHS of speculation about how this might all shake out. And you'll have Buck and Aikman on the call of the Super Bowl, with the world knowing it will be their last game together.
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So there's that. Then there will be all the other moving parts, like who ESPN will hire to replace him.
Greg Olsen reportedly has had no contract talks with Fox, per Richard Deitsch.
Tony Romo is a free agent after leaving CBS.
The Mannings are already on ESPN, doing their Manningcast.
Pat McAfee went on TV today and denied he's had any talks about moving to the booth, but that's quite simply impossible to believe. ESPN just gave McAfee his own alt-cast of MNF on select games - and an alt-cast for the Super Bowl. He's going to 100% be linked to this gig.
If I had to guess right now, I'd put my money on Greg Olsen moving to ESPN alongside Buck. Tom Brady joined Fox as the lead NFL analyst on a massive 10-year, $375 million deal, taking over as the top color commentator and bumping Olsen down to the #2 spot. He's a relatable former player who is willing to talk analytics. But plenty of time to debate who might get the call. So much time and speculation.
So you'll have months of this open speculation, and as Chris Klemmer said on America's favorite sports show, Sports Central, you'll have the tension of Aikman leaving the booth. Of course, that will linger over every broadcast. As will the real potential for stories about why Joe Buck is staying and why the former Cowboys QB is out.
It could get messy, as many (most?) breakups do.
NO CHANCE the NFL is happy that this will be out there for the next five months.
As for Aikman, he'll have plenty of suitors, including CBS. Jim Nantz/Aikman makes a lot of sense.
Good for Aikman for not running from the story. And a TERRIBLE job by ESPN for letting it become this public so far away from its first Super Bowl broadcast.