Andrew Marchand believes ESPN will wait until after Super Bowl to decide Troy Aikman’s future

ESPN may be in no hurry to lock up the other half of its Monday Night Football booth.

Mere days after Joe Buck inked a six-year extension worth more than $100 million to remain ESPN’s lead NFL voice through the network’s second Super Bowl in 2031, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand believes Troy Aikman’s fate won’t be settled until after ESPN broadcasts its first Super Bowl in February.

While Buck’s deal came together quickly, Aikman is playing out the final year of his contract, and he’s made it clear he expected more urgency. Speaking with Richard Deitsch last week, Aikman revealed he had expected a new agreement to be finalized before the season began, emphasizing that he hadn’t entered the last year of a contract since signing with the Dallas Cowboys. He acknowledged Buck’s extension was “no question” a factor in his deliberations and insisted he’d “100%” like to continue working alongside his longtime partner, while conceding that the decision may not rest entirely in his hands. The duo has shared a booth for nearly a quarter-century, predominantly at Fox, before ESPN orchestrated their 2022 arrival to rescue a Monday Night Football booth that had languished for years. Aikman was the first to defect that year, departing Fox of his own volition while Buck still had a year remaining on his contract.

Now, Marchand has shed further light on ESPN’s strategy. On his Marchand Sports Media podcast with co-host Jon Meterparel, he indicated the network intends to postpone negotiations until its Super Bowl obligations are complete.

“I do believe that the plan as of now from ESPN is to wait until after the Super Bowl and then discuss a new deal or move on from Aikman,” Marchand said.

ESPN lured Aikman from Fox with a salary comparable to what CBS had paid Tony Romo, a contract Marchand said had been a sore spot at Fox given Aikman’s far superior résumé as a three-time Super Bowl champion and Hall of Famer. Aikman currently earns about $18.5 million per year. Buck, on the other hand, wasn’t a difficult sign for ESPN executives Jimmy Pitaro and Burke Magnus, and Marchand doesn’t believe he received much of a raise, joking that the semi-retired broadcaster is “already making a trillion dollars.” The bigger question is whether Aikman wants to be paid like Tom Brady, whose Fox deal averages $37.5 million a year. Marchand said he’s been told Aikman isn’t seeking that figure.

“That’s more than twice as what he’s currently making,” Marchand said. “That’s where you get into the issues of, well, maybe you move on, and Greg Olsen or somebody becomes the heir apparent.”

Olsen has long been regarded as one of the industry’s premier analysts, earning widespread acclaim during his tenure in Fox’s lead booth before Brady’s arrival relegated him to the No. 2 crew alongside Joe Davis, where he remains this season. Marchand characterized him as “a big possibility for sure” should ESPN and Aikman part ways, though he stressed that the likeliest outcome may still be Buck and Aikman simply running it back for another six years.

Marchand also floated a more unconventional option, one he admitted was “a little gimmicky.” It comes on the heels of a sluggish start for the ManningCast, which attracted a mere 705,000 viewers on ESPN2 in Week 1, even as the primary Chiefs-Broncos telecast drew a robust 23.2 million, the most-watched Week 1 game of ESPN’s Monday Night Football era. Now in its sixth season, the altcast failed to eclipse 1 million viewers at any point last year, a precipitous decline from the more than 1.1 million it averaged in its second season, and critics have increasingly faulted its dependence on celebrity guests.

“What about the idea of you have Joe Buck with both Mannings for the biggest games? And then for the other games, you have Eli for some and Peyton for others,” Marchand said. “Now, a little gimmicky. But you finally get Peyton in the booth.”

It is unclear whether either Manning would entertain such an arrangement. Peyton, of course, has previously rebuffed booth overtures, and Marchand acknowledged he relishes working from home, where he can attend his children’s football games. Eli, on the other hand, has displayed enough acumen on the ManningCast that Marchand believes he’d be every bit as effective as his brother, if not superior. Their current deal with ESPN doesn’t require either one to travel, and Marchand ultimately conceded that Olsen would stand a better chance of landing the role.

Regardless, ESPN’s decision to wait comes as several top analyst jobs could open up this offseason. Kirk Herbstreit‘s contract with Prime Video expires after this season, and the streamer could very well move on from both him and the 81-year-old Al Michaels. CBS’ lead booth is also in question, with Tony Romo’s return looking unlikely and J.J. Watt still trying to establish himself alongside Jim Nantz. And then there’s Greg Olsen, who is also playing out the final season of his Fox contract, and whose deal reportedly includes a clause allowing him to leave for a top job if one opens up, something he’s made no secret of wanting. That gives ESPN more alternatives than it normally would if talks with Aikman stall, and it gives Aikman more leverage if he’s looking elsewhere.

Perhaps ESPN and Aikman work out a deal after the Super Bowl, as Marchand expects. Perhaps the price gets too high, and ESPN turns to Olsen or the Mannings. But either way, Buck and Aikman could call ESPN’s first Super Bowl without knowing whether they’ll be back together the following season.