Report: Troy Aikman is top target for NFL analyst job

Amazon will begin streaming “Thursday Night Football” exclusively next season, and the company is focused on trying to attract top talent to the booth. Troy Aikman may be the latest target.

Amazon wants to hire Troy Aikman as lead NFL analyst, according to Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports. The ultimate goal would be to pair Aikman with legendary play-by-play announcer Al Michaels, who is widely expected to leave NBC following the 2021 season.

Aikman has called games for FOX alongside Joe Buck since 2002. Many Thursday night games are simulcast on NFL Network and FOX, so Aikman has already been working them.

Eric Weinberger, the former executive vice president of NFL Network, told McCarthy he believes an Aikman-Michaels pairing would be “phenomenal” and the “gold standard of the National Football League.”

Whether it is realistic is another question. Aikman seems unlikely to leave FOX to call one game a week, though it’s possible he could work both gigs.

Michaels has been calling “Sunday Night Football” since 2006. He was with ESPN/ABC for “Monday Night Football” from 1986-2005 prior to that. He and longtime partner Cris Collinsworth will call the Super Bowl this year, and there has been speculation that Michaels could retire after that. He said before the season that he is not thinking about what comes next. However, a report earlier this season claimed he is very likely to be hired by Amazon.

If Aikman does leave FOX, one fellow former quarterback has been mentioned as a potential replacement.