The 2022 NFL season is right around the corner and it is going to sound a little different after all the broadcast juggling that happened this offseason.
Perhaps the biggest move was Troy Aikman and Joe Buck leaving FOX to become the new ESPN Monday Night Football booth.
The duo recently joined Andrew Marchand and John Ourand's sports media podcast as Aikman peeled back the curtain a little bit on how he ended up leaving FOX for ESPN.
"The reason that I'm no longer at FOX is mostly due to a lack of communication," Aikman said. "Which is ironic, since we're in the communications business. But, that's the way it is."
Buck recently expressed on another podcast that he was shocked when Aikman left because while the Hall of Fame quarterback and longtime color commentator was a free agent, he thought Aikman would split time working Amazon's Thursday Night Football game and do the FOX Sunday primetime game.
But Aikman said he never even heard from FOX CEO and executive producer Eric Shanks until after he accepted the ESPN offer.
"I asked him specifically for some comments that I had heard that a circulated and got back to me and he refused ot answer those questions," Aikman said. "Joe had asked him the same questions as to 'How did we get here?' And he refused to answer those questions as well."
Buck noted his journey from FOX to ESPN was much different, as he was still under contract for another year and had not considered leaving until Aikman was officially gone. The play-by-play voice needed permission from FOX to talk with other companies, which the network granted him.
But that line of communication simply did not exist for Aikman.
"I used the word disappointing," Aikman said. "I think that's the biggest thing for me. I just think that it's not hard just to have a conversation and if you have a position, that's fine. Nobody has to feel at fault for feeling a certain way or taking a stand. Just communicate that. And I think that's the biggest disappointment that I took from it. But with all that being said, I couldn't be more excited to be at ESPN and see how someone else does it."
Aikman and Buck will debut on Monday Night Football when the Denver Broncos visit the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 12 for Russell Wilson's first game back vs. his former team.
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