Pat McAfee Just Killed the Wildest ESPN Rumor — and It Says Everything About Troy Aikman’s Future

Pat McAfee is not going anywhere near the Monday Night Football broadcast booth — and he wants everyone to know it. On Thursday, the ESPN star shot down rumors that he could replace Troy Aikman as the network’s lead NFL analyst. He insisted there have been “zero conversations” about the job.

The rumor started earlier this week, when Front Office Sports floated McAfee as a possible successor to Aikman. However, McAfee killed it fast. “I would like to go on the record and say there have been zero conversations about it,” he said on Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, as Awful Announcing reported.

Why Pat McAfee Said No to Monday Night Football

McAfee’s answer was as blunt as his broadcasting style. He said ESPN has never approached him about the analyst chair, and he has no interest in it anyway. “I am not supposed to be a color commentator for football,” he explained. “I tried it a couple of times — I hated it, I got bored.”

That honesty is part of why viewers love him. McAfee already does play-by-play on the Field Pass altcast. He has settled into life as a host and entertainer rather than a traditional analyst — a very different job from the WWE color commentary he once did. But his brain, he said, simply does not work the way a color commentator’s does.

Pat McAfee on The Pat McAfee Show in 2022. McAfee says he has no interest in becoming a traditional football color commentator. Photo: Diddykong1130 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0).

The Aikman–Buck Drama Behind the Rumor

The McAfee rumor only exists because of a bigger story. That is the reported rift between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, his broadcast partner of 25 years. On Thursday, Aikman addressed his future on Dallas radio. He did not sound like a man planning to stay.

“I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year,” Aikman said, according to NBC Sports. “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.”

Aikman, 59, is in the final year of a five-year deal with ESPN that pays him a reported $18 million per season. His contract runs through Super Bowl LXI on February 14 at SoFi Stadium. That game happens to be ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl broadcast. Meanwhile, Buck recently signed a reported six-year extension worth more than $100 million, per The Athletic. It locks him in through the network’s next Super Bowl in 2031.

The contract gap has reportedly created tension. Front Office Sports reported the pair argued before Monday’s Bills–Rams game at SoFi Stadium. Asked about it, Aikman said: “There’s probably a time and a place for all that. I don’t know if now is the time.”

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have called games together for 25 years. Aikman says he will be a free agent after this season. Photo: Pennsylvania2, Fox Sports / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Timeline: How the MNF Booth Drama Unfolded

The saga has been building for months. Here is how it happened:

The Money Behind the Microphones

The reported numbers are staggering:

McAfee’s figures come from Sports Illustrated, citing The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. A $60 million extension would make him ESPN’s highest-paid employee ever. So he has zero reason to want a booth job that pays a fraction of his hosting income.

What’s Next for the Monday Night Football Booth?

With McAfee out of the picture, ESPN faces a choice. It must either re-sign Aikman before he hits the open market or hunt for a new lead analyst. The Hall of Famer would have no shortage of options: other networks, streaming platforms, or an NFL front-office role.

Pat McAfee’s name may keep coming up in Monday Night Football conversations, but he has made his answer clear: he is a host and entertainer, not a booth analyst.

Meanwhile, McAfee’s future is about expansion, not the booth. He is already a fixture on College GameDay. On top of that, he is about to make his acting debut. He will play a Marine drill instructor in The Mosquito Bowl, the Peter Berg film based on Buzz Bissinger’s bestselling World War II story. It opens in theaters October 30 and streams on Netflix starting November 25.

In other words, the man at the center of the rumor is busy becoming a movie star. Meanwhile, the man whose job was supposedly at risk just told the world he is planning his exit.

SoFi Stadium will host Super Bowl LXI on February 14 — ESPN’s first Super Bowl, and potentially Troy Aikman’s final ESPN broadcast. Photo: Troutfarm27 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Whatever happens, February 14 is must-watch TV — for the game and the goodbye. Will Aikman stay or go? Sound off below.

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