Troy Aikman says Fox never made an offer to keep him after ESPN offered mega deal
Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman's decision to join ESPN wasn't that difficult. Aikman said Fox never made a counteroffer after ESPN came calling.
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Aikman made those comments during a radio interview with 1310 The Ticket in Dallas. Aikman said he was fine with Fox not making a counteroffer, saying he "had 21 great years with Fox." He also said:
"It's a strange set of circumstances that led me, I guess, to this point where I'm now. And to not be back at Fox, which I never would have envisioned that happening six months ago. And so it's kind of strange how negotiations went six months ago. And then when we couldn't really reach what I felt was a fair value, I was able to negotiate an opt-out after six months and that's what allowed me to be a free agent, if you will.
"And then Fox never jumped into the game. They stayed where they were and never made an offer. In fact, I didn't have any conversation with Fox until I got a call to congratulate me on my new deal.
"That was a decision that they made, and it's fine. I had 21 great years with Fox."
Aikman's deal with ESPN is for roughly $90 million, per Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. Aikman will provide color commentary for ESPN games as part of his new deal, though he does not know who will join him in the booth yet.
ESPN has yet to announce Troy Aikman hiring
The lack of a partner might be holding up ESPN's announcement on the Aikman hiring. Aikman theorized ESPN is waiting to make the official announcement until the network knows who will provide play-by-play in the broadcast booth.
ESPN is reportedly considering Aikman's former booth mate, Joe Buck, as an option. Aikman said he would be on board with that idea.
"I wouldn't rule that out," Aikman said. "Which I would love. We've been together for 20 years. [Joe Buck is] one of my closest friends."
Buck still has a year left on his contract at Fox, per Marchand, so that complicates the situation. If Buck is not the answer for ESPN, the network could reportedly go after Al Michaels.
