Could Fox’s A Team become the new voices of Monday Night Football?
The big NFL news this week isn’t the future of Aaron Rodgers, who avoided commitment to the Packers like he has with potential spouses on the Pat McAfee Show when he spoke with them on Tuesday.
The big news is a potential seismic shift in the broadcasting world.
ESPN is reportedly stealing former Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman from Fox — and they might take Joe Buck with him.
The landscape of NFL television is shifting considerable this offseason.
Steve Levy, Louis Riddick Jr. and Brian Griese have been leading ESPN’s MNF broadcasts. They have also leveraged their college broadcast team at times when the network has a second game on Monday night.
ESPN’s deal with the NFL will expand their broadcast rights from 18 to 25 games in the coming years.
According to reports, Aikman negotiated a four-year extension at $13.2 million per year before the 2021 season. Marchand reports that deal had an opt-out for Aikman if a “bigger” opportunity presented itself.
Apparently Monday Night Football is that bigger opportunity.
According to Marchand, Aikman’s deal will run through Super Bowl 61 in 2027 — which will be on ABC/ESPN.
Who else is moving?
Al Michaels is heading to free agency, and might be pulling a Tom Brady. After being the voice of Sunday Night Football on NBC, he is reportedly being courted to lead Amazon’s coverage of Thursday night games moving forward. Amazon had been in the mix to bring Aikman in to work with Michaels.
If Buck wants to leave Fox before his contract expires at the end of the 2022 season, the network would need to grant him permission; he is also their primary play-by-play man for the World Series.
Marchand also reported that Fox’s list of potential Aikman replacements includes Greg Olsen, Sean Payton and Drew Brees. If they need to replace Buck, Gus Johnson could be the top candidate.
Tom Brady’s name has also been mentioned.
Sean McVay, whose future with the Rams has been the point of conversation leading up to the Super Bowl, has been a hot name in broadcast conversations. He said he plans on running it back with the Rams next year, but he could have a future in the booth as well.