Pat McAfee responds to speculation he could replace Troy Aikman in ‘MNF’ booth

Troy Aikman’s murky contract situation remains a dark cloud over ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth and Pat McAfee wants nothing to do with it.

McAfee threw cold water on a Front Office Sports opinion piece stating he could replace Aikman, who is in the last year of his deal and remains without a new contract while partner Joe Buck has been extended.

“This isn’t real,” McAfee wrote Tuesday on X. “Theres (sic) been zero conversation about this.”

ESPN has what many consider to be the best NFL broadcast duo, as Buck and Aikman have been together since 2002 when they were with Fox.  

At the time, Buck replaced Pat Summerall as Fox’s top voice, and Aikman and Cris Collinsworth rounded out the trio.

Collinsworth eventually departed for NBC and Buck and Aikman have been a duo ever since.

Some speculate that this could be the final year of the duo since Aikman hasn’t accepted a new contract while Buck has. 

ABC/ESPN airs the Super Bowl this year, which could potentially mark the end of the iconic duo. 

McAfee is doing an alt-cast of the Super Bowl this year and has “Monday Night Football Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show” on ESPN2 while Buck and Aikman are on ABC/ESPN. 

He has a massive contract at the network valued at over $60 million per year.

The Front Office Sports pieces speculates that if McAfee’s alt cast impresses ESPN bosses, he could be one to jump in and succeed Aikman.

While McAfee is dismissing the idea for now, it is unclear what ESPN executives are thinking and Aikman’s contract situation remains unsettled.  

Other potential replacements for Aikman include Sean McVay if he chooses to step away from coaching, Peyton or Eli Manning.