Troy Aikman has given the most direct response yet to questions around the potential conflict of interest around his role calling games for ESPN while also serving as an advisor for the Miami Dolphins.
Aikman is part of a growing wave of commentators across sports media, highlighted by Fox’s Tom Brady, who have taken on official jobs in team front offices while also covering the league on air. The list includes Aikman and Brady as well as Prime Video’s Udonis Haslem, NBC’s Sue Bird and Grant Hill, and even Dale Earnhardt Jr. It nearly included CBS’ Matt Ryan, after conflicting rumors surfaced over whether he would attempt to keep working in the studio while running the Atlanta Falcons.
But while Brady has continually brushed off complaints over his perch as the No. 1 game analyst at Fox while seemingly leading the Oakland Raiders’ front office, Aikman addressed the concerns head-on in an interview this week.
The Monday Night Football analyst said that while Miami is not on his schedule this season and not expected to be all that relevant to the NFL discourse, he has gotten the green light from none other than commissioner Roger Goodell to balance both jobs.
“I’ve talked to the commissioner, and he’s fine with what I’m doing and my role,” Aikman said on the Dallas Dialogue show.
“But I think that anyone that’s behind a mic that’s calling a game, there’s a conflict of interest. Because you have relationships in this business. I’ve been doing it for 25 years, and I have friendships every week that I call a game … and so I would argue every broadcaster has a conflict when they’re calling a game.
“I’ll just be very transparent. I don’t know if I’ll come out right away and say I’ve been involved in doing this, because it’ll be a year from now. But I think as long as you’re up front with the viewer and let them know the deal, they can take away from that as far as whether or not you’re biased in your analysis.”
At the same time, Aikman stressed that he is not looking to parlay his advisory role in Miami into a long-term career change.
“I have no plans to leave ESPN. I’m enjoying my broadcasting career as much as I ever have,” he said. “And so it doesn’t afford me the time I think it would require if I was to give the Dolphins more than I’ve given them up to this point. But I am a resource for them. No official title. Who knows, maybe that might change at some point when I decide to walk away form broadcasting if I still want to get involved and stay involved with an NFL team. But I’ve really enjoyed it.”
Perhaps it should not come as a surprise that Aikman would be more direct than some counterparts about his position. In a podcast appearance last year, Aikman said that when an opportunity to invest in a team came up while he was at Fox, he ran it by the company’s executives immediately. And Aikman has defended parts of Brady’s situation as well, saying that Brady can glean more from studying teams than production meetings, which the NFL originally barred him from.
Given that Goodell also has stood behind Brady since he bought into the Las Vegas Raiders, these dynamics are unlikely to change. At the very least, it is refreshing to hear Aikman open up about the conflicts all veteran broadcasters face, while also acknowledging that calling a Dolphins game would present him with an even bigger one.
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