Dan Le Batard thinks Troy Aikman’s contract limbo with ESPN may be no accident. On Thursday, he suggested the NFL might prefer Peyton Manning alongside Joe Buck on Monday Night Football while Buck positioned himself for change altogether.
What We Know: ESPN recently signed Buck to a six-year extension worth roughly $108 million. Meanwhile, Aikman remains unsigned, and ESPN won’t discuss his deal until after Super Bowl LXI. Manning, by contrast, holds an ESPN deal through 2034 via Omaha Productions. Additionally, the NFL owns 10% of ESPN, giving the league a financial stake in the network. Following Aikman’s comments from The Ticket in Dallas Thursday morning, Le Batard wondered aloud if this was the plan all along to shift Troy Aikman out in favor of Peyton Manning.
What They Said: (All quotes via The Dan Le Batard Show):
Dan Le Batard believes Joe Buck possibly wanted to break up with Troy Aikman: “If Joe Buck did want to break up with Troy Aikman and try to keep everything good there, my guess is the way that Joe Buck would do that is just the way that it happened. Not my fault, not my call. It’s reasonable for Troy Aikman to wonder if this is the most passive-aggressive way possible to break up with him. With a partner that he expected to not want to break up with him.”
Dan Le Batard believes the NFL could weigh in on bringing Peyton Manning to replace Troy Aikman: “If you’re the NFL, what you might want is to prefer Peyton Manning [on Monday Night Football]. He connects across a more recent generation. He’s funny. We already have a deal with him. His other thing [Manningcast] seems to be failing. Why don’t we just team Peyton Manning, who’s more clever and more commercial from a more modern football age. Why don’t we just team that up with Joe Buck?”
Dan Le Batard believes that Troy Aikman assumed too much that ESPN would re-sign him: “Troy Aikman not getting his money while [Peyton] Manning specifically is in the shadows. He [Manning] needs his partner’s [ESPN] support or feels like it. To get his money would absolutely provide attention there around money that would make things complicated. When Joe Buck’s public quotes are that’s out of my pay grade, I want to work with Troy, but I’m not involved with those decisions. My guess is that Troy would want his partner in there arguing on behalf of their value as a team, so that he can’t be replaced.”
What Remains Unclear: Notably, neither ESPN nor the NFL has hinted at a booth change. Furthermore, Le Batard offered speculation rather than reporting. It also remains unclear whether Manning even wants a weekly booth role instead of his current Manningcast with Eli Manning.
What It Means: Ultimately, Aikman’s unsigned status has become a storyline during ESPN’s first Super Bowl season. Moreover, Buck’s hands-off stance invites questions about his loyalty to his longtime partner. Still, Le Batard’s theory hinges on a Manning move that hasn’t materialized. For now, Aikman’s future likely won’t come into focus until February.
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