Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have jumped ship from Fox to become the new broadcast team for Monday Night Football on ESPN. Aikman and Buck are just two of several NFL broadcasters who were on the move following this past season.
Even though Aikman is happy he will get to continue calling games alongside one of his best friends, he told Jimmy Traina of Sports Illustrated that he remains confused and disappointed in how Fox handled the situation.
Earlier this month, BSM covered Aikman explaining he became a free agent after hearing just one contract offer from Fox. He said his bosses basically sat back while the Hall of Fame quarterback had contract discussions with both Amazon to join its Thursday Night Football booth and ESPN.
Aikman told Traina that after Fox agreed to let him opt out of the remainder of his contract after six months, he never heard from his boss until he called to congratulate him on the ESPN deal.
“I guess it’s disappointing. I would’ve thought there would’ve been a conversation at least,” he said. “And then when I did talk with him, I just asked for an explanation on some things that I didn’t quite understand, and he opted not to do that as well. I guess that’s where it’s left and that’s how I’ll leave Fox and that’s fine. I’m excited about ESPN and thrilled to continue to work with Joe.”
It was clear Aikman was going to be offered a lot more money in his next contract than he previously made. He said his job performance had nothing to do with his Fox departure.
“There was no reason for me to believe Fox was unhappy with anything I had done, my work,” he told Traina. “I think they were happy with Joe and I. Again, I’m merely speculating because I was never told, but I’m guessing it was an opportunity for Fox to hit the reset button on the economics of the No. 1 booth.”
Aikman also mentioned how no one at Fox kept Joe in the loop about what Aikman was doing, and that the network probably hated to lose Buck because of the value he brings to the table away from the microphone.
“He has been a valued asset, but he’s probably as confused as I am in the sense that, you know, the talks that I was having with Amazon were going on for quite some time and yet there were no conversations going on with Joe and how that might impact him,” Aikman said.