The landscape of NFL broadcasting is in for a major shakeup.
Andrew Marchand of the New York Post reports that Troy Aikman, who has worked at Fox for two decades, is on the verge of jumping not to Amazon, the company with which he’d been linked for months, but to ESPN for Monday Night Football.
Marchand adds that the deal is not yet done, but that it’s expected to be finalized. It’s also expected, per Marchand, to be comparable to the $18 million annual salary that Tony Romo gets from CBS — if not more.
The move means that Brian Griese and Louis Riddick will exit the Monday Night Football booth. Play-by-play announcer Steve Levy likely also will be reassigned.
The next question becomes who will Aikman’s partner be? Al Michaels reportedly wanted Aikman at Amazon; would Michaels go to ESPN instead? Would Fox allow Joe Buck to exit the company to continue his longstanding partnership with Aikman?
Again, Marchand reports the deal isn’t done. Even so, it’s already going to send shockwaves through NFL broadcasting, in more ways than one.