Report: Troy Aikman 'deep in negotiations' to join ESPN's 'Monday Night Football' broadcast

A major mix-up of the NFL broadcast scene may be on the way.

According to Andrew Marchand, sports media columnist for the New York Post, Troy Aikman is in advanced negotiations to become the new color commentator for ESPN's "Monday Night Football." Aikman is currently the lead color commentator for Fox.

Per Marchand, Aikman has not yet finalized a deal with ESPN, but there is an expectation the two sides will come to an agreement. He claims it's expected that in order to draw Aikman away from Fox, he'd need a contract comparable to Tony Romo's 10-year, $180 million deal with CBS.

Aikman has been with Fox since joining the network in 2001 as a color commentator. In 2002, he became their lead color commentator, joining the booth with Joe Buck and briefly Cris Collinsworth. Aikman and Buck have since been on-air partners for more than two decades.

Aikman's career in the booth came after a prolific career on the field, in which he won three Super Bowl titles with the Cowboys. He was named to six Pro Bowls over an 11-year career spent exclusively in Dallas.

As Marchand also notes, the question remains of who will be Aikman's play-by-play counterpart. "Monday Night Football" currently features a three-man team of Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick, who have held it down on the network for the past two seasons.

Longtime "Sunday Night Football" voice Al Michaels will likely be in the mix, Marchand writes, as his contract with NBC expired following the Super Bowl earlier this month, and he's been linked to other networks. Buck and other candidates both within and outside ESPN are expected to be considered as well.