Top Contender Reportedly Emerges To Replace Troy Aikman At Fox

Troy Aikman out, another former NFL player in?

Troy Aikman’s reported $90-million move from Fox to ESPN is going to break up one of sports broadcasting’s longest-tenured duos. Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have been together for a very long time.

Troy Aikman is on the verge of leaving Fox to become the lead analyst on ESPN’s Monday Night Football, per @nypost.

The deal is not done, but there’s an expectation that it will be finalized.

Aikman’s salary is expected to compete with Tony Romo’s 10-year, $180M deal with CBS. pic.twitter.com/kGZlophgh8

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) February 24, 2022

Reports initially surfaced that Sean Payton would be in line to replace Aikman.

Sean Payton Reportedly in Negotiations With Fox Sports To Potentially Replace Troy Aikman https://t.co/L9iexv0Aus

— SideAction (@SideActionHQ) February 25, 2022

Now it looks like another name has emerged, and this one is also a former NFL player.

The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch is hearing that Greg Olsen is the top contender to replace Aikman.

“Speaking of Olsen: I’d consider him the leading contender to be Fox’s No. 1 NFL analyst when the season begins next September, but Fox Sports executives are going to continue to look around for a potential No. 1 analyst. As one well-connected Fox Sports staffer told me this week, top management looked at their NFL analyst roster last year as Aikman and Olsen in the top tier, and then others in tiers below. But that’s not a guarantee Olsen gets moved up.

ESPN reported last week that Sean McVay is staying with the Los Angeles Rams, so that takes one potential high-ticket addition off the board. Someone like McVay or former Saints head coach Sean Payton, even with a big name, would always come with significant risk if injected directly into a No. 1 NFL game analyst spot with no television experience. (Tony Romo was a unicorn, and there are more Jason Wittens than Romos.) But what you have read about Payton being pursued is true. I personally don’t see Payton as a slam-dunk No. 1, but people at Fox I trust like his gravitas, his voice, and the respect he has around the league.

…It will come down to this: Do the highest levels of Fox Sports management think Olsen is a long-term No. 1? If the answer is yes, he takes Aikman’s spot.”

The NFL broadcast shuffle: As Troy Aikman nears ESPN move, what’s next for Al Michaels, Greg Olsen and more?

via @TheAthletic https://t.co/ugvNhliYXB

— Chad Moutray (@chadmoutray) March 2, 2022

Olsen does feel like a good fit to replace Aikman.

The big question is will he mesh with Joe Buck??

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