Greg Olsen Tapped to Replace Troy Aikman on ESPN's Monday Night Football
Sources suggest a breakdown in contract talks between Aikman and ESPN has paved the way for the former NFL star to take over the coveted broadcasting booth.
ESPN has reportedly identified Greg Olsen as the leading candidate to replace Troy Aikman in the Monday Night Football broadcast booth for the upcoming season. This development follows reports of stalled contract negotiations between Aikman and the network.
Aikman's current five-year contract, valued at $90 million, is set to conclude after he calls the Super Bowl in February. While his longtime broadcast partner, Joe Buck, recently agreed to an extension with ESPN, Aikman's future with the network remains uncertain.
According to John Ourand of Puck, Olsen, who is also a free agent at the end of the season, is the frontrunner for the position. Ourand stated in his newsletter, "My best sources are predicting that Greg Olsen will wind up in ESPN's Monday Night Football booth next season," as reported by Pro Football Talk.
Olsen, a former NFL tight end, transitioned to broadcasting after his retirement and quickly gained recognition for his analytical insights. He joined Fox and was part of the broadcast team for the 2024 Super Bowl. However, he was reportedly moved to the network's No. 2 broadcast team for the 2024 NFL season following Fox's signing of Tom Brady to a significant 10-year, $375 million contract.
Aikman himself has recently hinted at a potential departure from ESPN, addressing reports of a disagreement with Joe Buck that occurred before a recent Monday Night Football game. Front Office Sports reported that Buck initiated a conversation with Aikman regarding unspoken tension, which led to an argument that was subsequently de-escalated before they called the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams.
Buck and Aikman joined ESPN in the 2022 offseason, leaving Fox for lucrative deals. Buck's recent contract extension will keep him calling Monday Night Football into the 2030s, with his annual salary reportedly increasing from $15 million to $18 million. Aikman, who has been broadcasting with Buck since 2002, acknowledged last month that contract discussions had not progressed as expected.
"I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season," Aikman said on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. "I've never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. So I thought that it would be done. It's not."
Aikman indicated his focus remains on completing the current season and then exploring his options. "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," he told 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas-Fort Worth. "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."