Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have spent nearly a quarter-century calling NFL games together. They’ve survived bad football, questionable officiating, endless replays and more production meetings than either care to remember.
Apparently, the one thing that could strain their relationship is more dangerous than third-and-long against the 2000 Ravens. Money.
ESPN gave Buck a reported six-year, $108 million extension, while Aikman has yet to receive a formal offer. Reports say the two even argued before Monday night’s broadcast. Then, on Thursday, Aikman said he’ll become a free agent after the season.
Nothing says 25 years of friendship like one guy getting $108 million while the other starts looking at real estate elsewhere.
The ‘Old’ Guard
The pair moved from FOX Sports to ESPN in 2022, with Aikman reportedly earning $18 million annually. That raises a bigger question: Should the days of paying former quarterbacks $18 million, $20 million or, in Tom Brady’s case, a reported $37.5 million annually to explain football be ending?
Nothing against Aikman. He’s prepared, credible and knows the game. But he’s not John Madden.
Buck and Aikman aren’t Madden and Pat Summerall. Madden was a phenomenon. He changed how Americans watched football, made offensive linemen celebrities, turned the telestrator into entertainment. He could make a Thanksgiving turkey sound like a scientific breakthrough. People tuned in partly because Madden was calling the game.
How many people turn on Monday Night Football specifically for Aikman? Probably fewer than ESPN’s accountants would like. The NFL is the attraction. Nobody cancels dinner because a different former quarterback might explain Cover 2.
Then there’s Cris Collinsworth.
Collinsworth is 67. He retired after the 1988 season, when Ronald Reagan was president. I’ve enjoyed Collinsworth for years. He’s smart and understands football, but lately, he sounds increasingly like a caricature of himself. The familiar delivery, predictable praise and breathless excitement over an ordinary block.
He’s lost something off his fastball.
This isn’t ageism. Experience matters, but it shouldn’t guarantee a lifetime reservation in the best booth. Aikman will be 60 next month and retired after the 2000 season. An entire generation of fans has grown up without watching him play.
A Needed Youth Movement
Analysts don’t need to have played last Sunday, but it might be nice if younger viewers remembered seeing them play at all.
Brady, meanwhile, is improving. His first season wasn’t especially impressive, considering FOX Sports’ reported $375 million commitment over 10 years. Now he’s more comfortable, conversational and willing to offer real insight. Encouraging, sure. Even the greatest quarterback ever needed time to learn television.
So why aren’t networks developing more new voices?
Greg Olsen is the obvious example, and Thursday brought another interesting development. According to Richard Deitsch, FOX Sports hasn’t held contract negotiations with Olsen, whose deal expires after this season. Olsen also had exploratory conversations with CBS two years ago. The 41-year-old Emmy-winning analyst, who has already called a Super Bowl, could become available just as ESPN faces uncertainty with Aikman and CBS searches for its long-term answer.
Olsen was excellent as FOX Sports’ lead analyst before Brady arrived and pushed him to the second team. He didn’t lose the job because he wasn’t good enough. He lost it because FOX Sports had already written a check the size of a small country’s defense budget.
Olsen should be a top analyst somewhere. Put him with Buck at ESPN or Jim Nantz at CBS. Either pairing would make sense.
CBS has an opportunity after moving on from Tony Romo. J.J. Watt has stepped into the lead booth alongside Nantz. Watt knows football, and fans remember him playing on Sundays, but, for me, he isn’t there yet. Solid isn’t the same as special. CBS can do better than assuming the next famous player automatically becomes its next great analyst.
Jason Kelce intrigues me more. He’s funny, fresh and, to my ear, better suited to calling games than sitting behind a desk before and after them. He needs polish. That’s what reps are for.
His brother Travis? Whenever he retires, television executives will be fighting over him. I can’t imagine him staying away from a camera.
Then there’s Pat McAfee. Love him, hate him or simply feel exhausted by him, he knows how to connect with an audience. ESPN keeps finding places to put him, and he’s already called games. This week, he pushed back on speculation about replacing Aikman. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually lands in a prominent booth sooner rather than later.
Don’t forget Rams head coach Sean McVay. Every network executive probably has his number saved under “Please Call Me Back.”
He’s young, charismatic, a Super Bowl-winning coach and one of football’s sharpest offensive minds. Whenever he leaves the sideline, I think he’d be a star.
Thinking Differently
There’s a distinction between play-by-play voices and analysts. Finding another Buck, Mike Tirico, Jim Nantz or Kevin Burkhardt is difficult. They juggle timing, emotion, information and personalities, often across multiple sports. Elite play-by-play talent is stretched thin.
Analysts should be different. Every year, the NFL produces intelligent, articulate former players with recent experience. Some will stink on television. Others could be terrific. We’ll never know if the biggest jobs remain occupied indefinitely by familiar names.
Aikman’s comments don’t guarantee he’s leaving ESPN. But with Buck locked up, Aikman discussing his next destination and Olsen potentially available, networks have a chance to rethink what they’re paying for. I’m not proposing we escort Aikman or Collinsworth out with a gold watch and complimentary headset. I’m asking for competition, opportunity and imagination.
For years, networks have paid enormous premiums for recognizable names. At some point, they need to ask whether they’re buying better broadcasts or just more expensive ones.
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