If an easy-to-believe report from The New York Post is accurate, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Russell Wilson aren’t the only Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks who could potentially be on the move during the NFL offseason.
Per The Post, former star Dallas Cowboys QB Troy Aikman is expected to leave his longtime spot alongside star play-by-player Joe Buck in the top NFL booth at Fox to become the main analyst for Monday Night Football on ESPN.
Though nothing is confirmed and ESPN declined to comment, the deal is rumored “to approach or exceed the neighborhood of Tony Romo’s $17.5 million per year contract with CBS” and is “near completion,” per The Post. Though terms have not been announced, and possibly not agreed to, reports are Aikman’s new deal will run through Super Bowl 61 in 2027.
Should it happen, Aikman signing with ESPN would likely pave the way for a number of the top names in NFL broadcasting finalizing their plans for next season, including Al Michaels making it official that he will be broadcasting Thursday Night Football for Amazon now that his contract with NBC is up. Other longshot names that could be in play for a TV job next season are Rams coach Sean McVay and Brady, and it seems like a virtual certainty that former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton will be in a booth or studio next season instead of standing on the sidelines.
The Monday Night Football booth currently consists of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese, so if Aikman is hired that lineup is likely to change in some way. Fox will also have to find a replacement for Aikman if he bolts.
Brady?
“Fox would also have interest in Brady, but, if the network wasn’t going to match ESPN for Aikman, it seems impossible to believe it would go into the stratosphere it would take to possibly even entice Brady,” per The Post. “Like Peyton Manning, Brady will be able to choose when and if he wants to be in a booth. Manning and his brother, Eli, are scheduled to do 10 telecasts basically over Zoom the next three years. Their rookie year edition of the Manningcast on ESPN2 for Monday night games was very well received.”
With the NFL offseason barely underway, nothing is settled, but get ready for plenty of big names to change teams — and TV networks.
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