Troy Aikman and Tony Romo may be from the same fraternity with the Dallas Cowboys, but the competitive juices to be the top guy kicked in as soon as Romo got paid.
Romo, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, retired from the NFL after the 2016 season and quickly became a broadcasting sensation. In the booth, he has developed a popular trick of predicting plays before they happen, most famously in the 2019 AFC championship game. That knowledge, combined with an enthusiasm for the sport, has made Romo the most talked about announcer in the industry since John Madden.
Because of that, Romo and CBS agreed to a long-term deal worth $17 million per year.
Troy Aikman, a former Dallas Cowboys quarterback, had been doing braodcasting for much longer and recently agreed to a monster contract with ESPN. Aikman is getting a five year, $90 million contract from the Worldwide Leader, according to reports. That’s more than former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo is getting from CBS.
That contract was very important to Aikman, according to the Washington Post:
“Aikman wanted to beat Romo’s deal since the day Romo signed it, according to multiple people with knowledge of his thinking. And ESPN was happy to accommodate him when Pitaro learned he was available thanks to an opt-out in his contract. ESPN had moved on from Witten, but last season’s Monday night crew of Steve Levy, Louis Riddick and Brian Griese didn’t have the name-brand cachet as Buck and Aikman, who will now earn north of $30 million combined. (ESPN is also paying the Manning brothers to do their popular Monday night alternate broadcast.)
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Now, Aikman takes his talents to ESPN alongside Joe Buck to do what they’ve always done and call games magnificently.
Romo has teamed with play-by-play broadcaster Jim Nantz and sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson on CBS’ No. 1 NFL team since 2017.
