Rumors swirled throughout the 2021 NFL season that Fox’s Troy Aikman would be joining Amazon’s new Thursday Night Football package for the ’22 season.
Many industry people expected Aikman to keep his Fox gig while working fewer games and fit Amazon into his schedule.
However, in a stunning development, ESPN jumped in and signed Aikman to a five-year deal to call Monday Night Football.
Aikman appeared on the latest SI Media Podcast and talked about the move.
When asked why Fox let him join ESPN, Aikman said, “I don’t know the answer to that. I don’t know that I ever will get the answer to that one. I think through it all, it’s a business. Fox is welcome to do whatever it is they feel is in their best interest as I am, as everybody is, so there’s no hard feelings about anything. I had a great 21 years at Fox. I guess what’s perplexing to me is that I had no conversation with my boss [Fox Sports president Eric Shanks] until he called me to congratulate me on my contract with ESPN.”
Aikman later added, “I guess it’s disappointing. I would’ve thought there would’ve been a conversation at least. And then when I did talk with him, I just asked for an explanation on some things that I didn’t quite understand, and he opted not to do that as well. I guess that’s where it’s left and that’s how I’ll leave Fox and that’s fine. I’m excited about ESPN and thrilled to continue to work with Joe."
With NFL broadcaster salaries rising significantly in recent years, Aikman said he understands the business. When asked whether he thought Fox letting him leave was all about the money, he said, “Yeah. I think it was. I sense that it was. There was no reason for me to believe Fox was unhappy with anything I had done, my work. I think they were happy with Joe and I. Again, I’m merely speculating because I was never told, but I’m guessing it was an opportunity for Fox to hit the reset button on the economics of the No. 1 booth.”
During the podcast, Aikman also discussed his role in bringing Joe Buck to ESPN and Fox’s lack of communication with the pair.
“I think that [Fox] probably would’ve liked to have kept Joe. He’s a real asset to the company, of course, with all that he does. And when I say all that he does, it goes beyond what the public sees with baseball and football and when the network had golf. He also does a lot behind the scenes for the company. He has been a valued asset, but he’s probably as confused as I am in the sense that, you know, the talks that I was having with Amazon were going on for quite some time and yet there were no conversations going on with Joe and how that might impact him.
“So I think it was just a lack of communication all the way across the board and probably still continues with a lot of people within the company and what exactly their next steps are.”
Aikman also discussed whether he feels pressure going to MNF, what appealed to him about MNF, how close he was to joining Amazon, what he tries to bring to the table as a broadcaster and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
