Troy Aikman’s future with ESPN certainly appears to be in jeopardy, but at the same time, it raises the question of who could replace him. If ESPN ultimately decides to part ways with the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has reportedly emerged as a favorite to take over.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
The move would make sense, considering Olsen has earned plenty of praise in the broadcasting world and has been looking to return to the No. 1 broadcasting booth ever since Tom Brady replaced him at FOX’s top booth. However, while discussing Aikman’s future and ESPN’s potential decision to replace him on WFAN’s Boomer & Gio, host Gregg Giannotti called out the network for considering Olsen as Aikman’s replacement.
“He doesn’t stand out to me as the next big color commenting star of the NFL. I really think a lot of this has to do with the fact that he burst onto the scene and did a nice job. Then Tom Brady, who everybody loves to hate, comes in, takes his job, and he had to get a demotion. Then [Olsen] became this sympathetic figure amongst people because he took the high road. Then because of that, the way people look at him was sort of elevated.”
Olsen spent 14 seasons in the NFL, primarily with the Panthers and just one season with the Seattle Seahawks before retiring and entering the broadcasting world. After Troy Aikman and Joe Buck left for ESPN in 2022, FOX hired Olsen and paired him with Kevin Burkhardt on its No. 1 team. They became the network’s lead NFL booth and called Super Bowl LVII in February 2023.
In 2024, however, Tom Brady entered FOX’s NFL booth under the enormous 10-year, $375 million deal he had signed with the network in 2022. FOX made Brady Burkhardt’s new partner, moving Olsen to the No. 2 team with Joe Davis and Pam Oliver. But at the same time, a demotion at FOX because of Brady was an “ego hit” for the former tight end.
“Of course,” said Olsen when asked whether he was pissed at the network’s decision to demote him. “Professionally, no different than I’m sure for him, or for any of us, there is a level of competitiveness that allows any of us to exist in what we do. When you have a young driver come join Hendrick (Motorsports), are you going to be supportive? Are you going to give them advice? Of course. Do you want him to beat you in the Coca-Cola 600? Hell no. That is the world we’ve all lived in. So that’s not new to me. In the moment, is your ego hit? Sure.”
While Olsen was certainly supportive of Brady, the former NFL player is actively looking to get back to the No. 1 team as he enters the final year of his deal with FOX. At the same time, ESPN has signed Joe Buck to a six-year, $108 million deal, while Aikman remains unsigned. With Aikman’s future at ESPN uncertain, Olsen is considered a top candidate to replace him.
However, Giannotti believes that ESPN is favoring Greg Olsen just to save some money.
“If Troy Aikman really is replaced by Greg Olsen on Monday Night Football, it’s going to confuse me. Maybe it was the relationship between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman that deteriorated. Maybe it was all the money that Troy was asking for. But if their plan was to upgrade this booth and also save some money by hiring Greg Olson, I think that they’re just making a mistake.”
There’s no denying that ESPN’s decision to sign Buck to a deal without telling Aikman has created a rift between the longtime booth partners. However, that didn’t stop Aikman from starting the contract negotiations with the network, considering his current deal will expire following the Super Bowl in February 2027.
According to Dylan Byers of Puck, Aikman’s representatives initially put his value at around $30 million per year. That was an enormous jump from his $18 million salary and would have put him much closer to Tom Brady’s $37.5 million-a-year FOX deal. ESPN was reportedly taken aback by that number and wanted to postpone the negotiations until after the 2026 season.
Meanwhile, subsequent reports suggested that Aikman’s camp lowered its demand, reportedly to something comparable to the raise Joe Buck received. However, ESPN still did not agree to resume the negotiations.
Meanwhile, Aikman has already admitted that he will become a free agent after the conclusion of the 2026 season.
“There’s probably a time and a place for all that,” said Aikman. “I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened. I’ll broadcast through this season, and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”
That said, Troy Aikman’s future at ESPN is currently up in the air. And while Greg Olsen is the top candidate to replace him, it remains to be seen how this will unfold, as ESPN prepares for its first Super Bowl.