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Troy Aikman Calls ESPN Analyst/Former NFL Star the Hardest Working in Sports Media

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Rodney Knuppel | Last updated Sep 16, 2025 9:41 AM ET

Monday Night saw a pair of games to wrap up Week 2 of the NFL season. ESPN saw a doubleheader of games featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Houston Texans, followed by the Las Vegas Raiders hosting the Los Angeles Chargers.

The crew of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman called the first game, which saw Baker Mayfield leading Tampa Bay to a late win on the road. That led right to Game 2, where Chris Fowler was on the call with Dan Orlovsky and Louis Riddick.

As the end of the first game was approaching, ESPN panned to Las Vegas for warmups, which led to a dialogue between Buck and Aikman, and the conversation was on former quarterback turned analyst Orlovsky.

Troy Aikman: "Dan Orlovsky, he's the hardest-working guy on television. Every time I turn on ESPN, he's on."

Joe Buck: "And then when he's not in the studio, he goes on with (Pat) McAfee like from his car."

Aikman: "I don't know when the guy sleeps." ️ #NFL #MNF pic.twitter.com/mUv8BVmfux
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 16, 2025

Aikman started out the conversation by talking about his fellow ESPN employee:

"Dan Orlovsky, he's the hardest-working guy on television. Every time I turn on ESPN, he's on."

Buck came back with an agreement and added to it:

"And then when he's not in the studio, he goes on with (Pat) McAfee like from his car."

Aikman finished it off with a funny, but true statement:

"I don't know when the guy sleeps."

Being called the "hardest-working guy on television" is quite the honor from the Hall of Fame quarterback. Orlovsky is now 42-years old, and following his time at UConn, was a fifth round draft pick in the 2005 draft.

Starting his career with the Lions, he also spent time with the Texans, Colts, Buccaneers, and then back to the Lions. He finished his career as a practice squad member with the Rams in 2017.

Orlovsky in his career at UConn was named the Motor City Bowl MVP and also won the Walter Camp Connecticut Player of the Year award. In the NFL, he threw 15 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He has been on with ESPN since 2022.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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