Pat McAfee Denies Reports of Replacing Troy Aikman on Monday Night Football
The popular media personality stated there have been 'zero conversations' about him joining the booth.
Pat McAfee has publicly refuted speculation that he is being considered to replace Troy Aikman as the color commentator for ESPN's Monday Night Football. The rumors gained traction following a column suggesting McAfee's Super Bowl altcast could serve as a trial for the main broadcast role next season.
MCAFEE'S RESPONSE On Thursday's edition of 'The Pat McAfee Show,' McAfee addressed the reports directly, stating, "I've already Tweeted it out that it's not real, and there's been zero conversations about it." He added, "We are big fans of Joe and Troy and of the Monday Night Football operation. That's for them to figure out."
McAfee suggested the rumors were an attempt to create controversy, noting the ongoing contract discussions for Aikman. "There's Monday Night Football contract business happening in a very public way," he said. While expressing gratitude for the consideration, McAfee emphasized that a traditional broadcast booth is not his desired role. "I am not supposed to be a color commentator for football. That is something I've decided. I had a chance to try it a couple times. I hated it. I got bored."
AIKMAN'S CONTRACT SITUATION The speculation comes as Aikman, who has been paired with Joe Buck for 25 years, is in the final year of his contract with ESPN and has not yet signed an extension. Buck, conversely, recently signed a six-year deal worth approximately $108 million, reportedly leading to tension between the longtime broadcasting partners.
In a separate interview on Thursday morning, Aikman addressed his future, telling 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas-Fort Worth, "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 remained non-committal about his relationship with Buck, stating, "I don't know if it's hard to figure out kind of what happened."
McAfee's current role with ESPN includes being part of the Monday Night Countdown pregame show. He is also slated to host an alternate broadcast for select regular-season games and Super Bowl LXI alongside Dan Orlovsky and Darius Butler. Aikman and Buck joined ESPN in 2022, leaving Fox in lucrative deals, with Buck securing his contract extension last month.