It’s starting to sound like Troy Aikman won’t be part of the “Monday Night Football” crew for the 2027 season.
Aikman has not yet received a contract extension from his ESPN. His longtime broadcast partner, Joe Buck, was already rewarded with a six-year extension worth around $108 million. According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, there’s tension brewing between Buck and Aikman due to their respective contract situations.
Even though Aikman didn’t comment on his relationship with Buck during an appearance on KTCK The Ticket in Dallas, he did hint at his time with ESPN coming to an end.
“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,” Aikman said. “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.”
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If Aikman is truly leaving ESPN after the 2026 season, NFL fans would love to see him join forces with Jim Nantz at CBS. After all, Nantz is in the market for a broadcast partner since Tony Romo has been let go.
“Jim Nantz and Troy Aikman. Not bad. CBS get it done,” one person wrote on X.
“It should be a former Cowboys QB trade, Aikman with Nantz at CBS and Buck and Romo at ESPN,” a fan commented.
“Aikman and Jim Nantz would be fab,” a second fan said.
“If ESPN is dumb enough to break up Buck and Aikman then hopefully CBS signs him and makes a Nantz-Aikman booth,” another person declared.
Who would replace Aikman at ESPN?
If ESPN wants to go with an internal hire, Pat McAfee and Jason Kelce have been mentioned as options for “Monday Night Football.” However, McAfee has already said he doesn’t want to replace Aikman.
It’s also possible ESPN goes big-name hunting for a proven broadcaster like Greg Olsen or Tony Romo.
The last option we can’t rule out is Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly, who is slowly becoming a fan-favorite in the broadcast booth.
