Former NFL punter turned sports pundit Pat McAfee appears to be in the dark regarding his relationship with ESPN colleague Troy Aikman.
McAfee, whose eponymous show airs on the waves of ‘The Worldwide Leader in Sports,’ has been known for an occasional spat with his co-workers.
But during Tuesday’s episode of ‘The Pat McAfee Show,’ the former Indianapolis Colts star revealed his many failed attempts to bring Aikman on as a guest.
After being asked by ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager if he bumped into Aikman at the annual NFL meetings in Phoenix, McAfee was honest.
‘I don’t know where we are with Troy, I’ll be honest,’ the host said.
‘I like him, I was with [Aikman’s broadcast partner] Joe Buck for a long time… Troy never comes on our show.’
ESPN pundit Pat McAfee admitted to being in the dark about his standing with a colleague
McAfee detailed how he tried many times to bring Troy Aikman on the show, but he declined
McAfee noted Aikman went on Rich Eisen’s show at the same time, but said it wasn’t personal
While McAfee said that he doesn’t take it personally, he noted that Aikman appeared on the inaugural ESPN broadcast of ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ when it joined the network in September.
‘Then Rich Eisen’s first day on ESPN at noon, he’s on the show,’ McAfee commented.
‘Troy always tells us, “Can’t do it noon. Sorry, it’s impossible.” First day Rich is on, Troy’s like, “Get me on that phone.”‘
McAfee reiterated that he ‘won’t take it as personal heat,’ but concluded, ‘I do not know, and we don’t know Troy like that.’
Aikman arrived with Buck from Fox Sports on a multi-year deal in March of 2022 after working as a pair for 20 seasons.
The commentary team is set to call Super Bowl LXI next February in Los Angeles. This will be the first time that ESPN will air the NFL title game.
