Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is expected to leave Fox Sports to become the main analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football, according to The New York Post.
What’s Happening:
- Aikman’s ESPN deal will be for five years, according to sources, and his yearly salary is expected to approach or exceed the neighborhood of Tony Romo’s $17.5 million per year contract with CBS. The deal is not yet signed, but it is near completion.
- Aikman’s seismic move will shake-up NFL TV free agency. Already this offseason, the contract of Al Michaels, arguably the greatest NFL play-by-player of all time, ran out with NBC.
- Michaels, 77, has been on the 1-yard line in his negotiations to be the lead play-by-play voice when Amazon Prime Video begins its exclusive coverage of Thursday Night Football. Michaels had hoped Aikman would join him on Thursday nights.
- ESPN currently has Steve Levy, Louis Riddick Jr. and Brian Griese as its lead Monday Night Football team. Over the next few years, ESPN will have an expansion in NFL games from 18 to 25. They will need multiple crews to call them.
- While ESPN has considered making a run at Michaels — it hasn’t done so yet — there is another wild possibility that with Joe Buck’s contract up next year, sources said ESPN could try to pry Buck from Fox. Buck also calls the World Series for the network. Fox would have to grant Buck permission if he wanted to leave early.
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