LOOK: ESPN officially announce next Monday Night Football crew
The world of broadcasting in the NFL is changing from what we know it as, with ESPN acquiring two of the biggest names to be the new lead voices of Monday Night Football. Play-by-play announcer Joe Buck and color analyst Troy Aikman will be making the switch over from Fox, working exclusively in the prime time spot.
ESPN officially announced the move on Wednesday, giving everyone a first look at the broadcast duo with ESPN microphones. As to when Aikman and Buck will make their debuts is not yet known, with the official 2022 NFL schedule set to be released sometime in May.
You can check out the official announcement on Twitter here.
Buck will be leaving Fox after 28 years, originally being hired to call NFL games. He was soon brought into the baseball world, broadcasting the World Series 23 different times and did 21 All-Star games for the network. Baseball will be left behind for Buck at ESPN, putting his entire focus on football.
As for Aikman, he joined Fox in 2001, serving as a color commentator. Just one year later, he was promoted to the network’s top spot, working with Buck and Chris Collinsworth to call the biggest game of the week. He will be working with a different company for the first time in his post-NFL career.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter pointed out an interesting fact about Buck and Aikman working together, saying the duo will tie an NFL broadcasting record when the season opens in the fall.
“Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s 2022 Monday Night Football debut will mark their 21st NFL season together in the booth, matching the legendary Pat Summerall and John Madden’s all-time record as on-air NFL partners,” Schefter said via Twitter.
Buck and Aikman will be replacing a three-man booth, with Steve Levy, Brian Griese (now San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks coach), and Louis Riddick calling Monday Night Football the past two seasons. One of the sport’s best announcing combinations now has one of the sport’s best primetime spots.