NFL Hall of Fame QB Troy Aikman is reportedly very close to leaving Fox Sports after receiving an offer to become the main analyst for ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football’. The reported deal between ESPN and Aikman is close to fruition and it will be on a 5-year contract. The figures also are estimated to be similar to or more than Tony Romo’s $17.5 Million deal with CBS.
It is a TV-free agency landscape shifting deal and will have a seismic effect on NFL broadcasting dynamics. It only comes in addition to the already significant news of NFL’s greatest play-by-play analyst, Al Michaels, also becoming a free agent.
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The 77-year-old is rumored to be on his way to do analysis next season for Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football” and was hoping Aikman would join him.
It is quite an exciting time for NFL analysts, as an influx of fresh faces seems to be on the horizon. Former players and coaches like Tom Brady and Sean McVay are some prominent names that have shown an eagerness to do NFL analysis.
Troy Aikman getting his piece of the pie
The war and hunt for NFL analysts to fill the team slots seem to have begun. With Aikman soon getting off the board, ESPN might not stop at him alone but might also do a raid for Fox analyst Joe Buck.
Buck also has been covering the World Series and could be a huge scalp in both sports for ESPN.
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It leaves Fox Sports quite vulnerable and with a gaping hole in their No.1 analyst team. They also have to cover two Super Bowls in the next three years but will hope to continue quickly adding depth in that department, like in recent years. There remain many analysts who can be huge additions to the Fox Sports team.
Troy Aikman is now finalizing a deal to leave FOX and become the main analyst for Monday Night Football, per @AndrewMarchand. The deal is expected to be for 5 years worth around $17.5M per season. ESPN could also end up trying to pry Joe Buck away from FOX.https://t.co/2BNc2Nxpvj
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) February 24, 2022
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NFL analysts like Greg Olsen, McVay, Sean Payton, and NBC’s Drew Brees are some of the likely candidates on Fox’s immediate radar similar to Amazon. With the expansion of ESPN’s game coverage from 18 to 25 games, they needed a bigger crew, and Aikman might be part of that process. While ESPN currently has Steve Levy, Louis Riddick Jr., and Brian Griese as their lead MNF team, Aikman has all the tools to be effective.
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