GREEN BAY — Troy Aikman, arguably the top color commentator working in sports TV today, sat down with Front Office Sports on Monday before Eagles-Packers to discuss his candor in announcing games, the recent controversy with Caleb Williams (whose coach Ben Johnson took issue with Aikman’s candor after a recent Bears game), how he stays so healthy, and what he’s learned in the beer business.
Aikman was a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Cowboys in the 1990s and, along with play-by-play partner Joe Buck, joined ESPN from Fox Sports in 2022.
Front Office Sports: You’ve been differentiated in your commentating style in that you’re more willing to be critical and candid of performances than just basically anybody else. What makes you feel comfortable letting it rip and being free and honest about what you’re seeing?
Troy Aikman: So that’s a complicated question, and probably even a more complicated answer for me. My first year at Fox, I replaced Matt Millen when he became GM at Detroit Lions. And so I moved right into the number-two booth and worked with Dick Stockton. And so one year after I’m in the business. John Madden, who was a very close friend of mine, calls me and says, “Hey, I’m going to Monday Night Football.” So the very first press conference that I had with Joe [Buck] and Cris Collinsworth—we were paired together—I was asked, “Can you be critical?” And that seemed to be the prevailing question to me [from reporters].
I was kind of taken aback by that, quite honestly. I said, “I don’t know that that’s my job to be critical. My job is to be honest. My job is to be right. And I’m going to try to do that as best I can.” I’ve never viewed my approach to it as though I’m going to be critical. I honestly don’t want to be thought of as that because I don’t think that I am [critical]. What I do feel that I am, to your point, is I feel like I’m honest. What would bother me when I was playing is I’d be watching a primetime game and the announcers would say, “This guy, this quarterback throws that ball better than anybody in the league, or he’s the only guy in the league to do X,” whatever it is. And I’d say, “What are you talking about? I mean, there’s 31 other guys in this league that can do that throw.” And then the next week, they’d be saying the same thing about the next guy. And I just thought it was all hyperbole. I’ve always been wired like this throughout my life, that I want to be fair. I want to be fair to the people that play and coach. And I respect those people who do that.
I respect the coaches. I respect the players. And I try to show that in the broadcast. But if someone makes a poor throw or a poor decision, they should know that. And so I’ll say that.
FOS: Not everybody will do that on as sharp a standard as you do.
TA: Well, I’ll take that as a compliment and I’ll say thank you. I hear what you’re saying a lot. I do hear it from a lot of people, and they say that they find it a bit refreshing, but I never want to cross the line where I’m not respectful to the participants on the field because I do know how hard the position is.
And quite honestly, you didn’t ask this, but being in Chicago and with the Caleb [Williams] situation: when you do live television for 25 years, there’s bound to be times when you say something, and you’re like, “I wish I could take that back,” or “I wish I could say, could have said that a little differently,” or in the moment you say something, you’re like, “That didn’t quite come out right.”
That game was not one of those. I walked out of that game feeling like “O.K., it was a game that came down to the wire.” It’s fun, whatever. On Tuesday evening I had dinner and I got home and I was just kind of looking at my Instagram, and all of a sudden Ben Johnson comes up and it’s got Troy Aikman written on there. And I’m like, “What is this?” First time I heard about it. So I don’t know exactly where that came from. I didn’t go back and watch the broadcast, but I would challenge anyone to go watch it and tell me that any analysis that I gave was unfair. I mean, they may disagree if I thought that was maybe not great ball placement, and they thought it was. O.K., but I’m not sure where it came from.
FOS: When you and Joe came over from Fox, it was a big stake in the ground for ESPN in terms of rekindling the network’s relationship with the NFL, and solidifying their broadcast before they entered the Super Bowl rotation. Do you feel the weight of that?
TA: Yes, we feel a responsibility for sure. I think just like a player would after he gets traded or signs with a team and there’s expectations and you’re there to make it better. So yeah, we definitely felt that. We still feel it. Not quite as much, I don’t think, as we did going in Year One, because now we’re in our fourth year here at ESPN and it’s become our home. I don’t want to speak for Joe. I don’t feel any more responsibility than anyone else on our crew and what we’re here to do.
I think we have a really good team. But yeah, I think there were people who put their neck out to bring us in. And so we do feel that. And part of that, because the one thing that we never had to concern ourselves with at Fox was that because they have so many games each week, you’re bound to have a game that’s a compelling game for the 4:30 window. Whereas here, we’re beholden to the schedule. So for us, what the league gives us out of the gate is what we get.
So we’ve been proud of some of the games that we’ve been given. And I think it’s more of a reflection of the league making good on whatever conversations they may have had with ESPN. And I know in talking with the commissioner, he felt that ESPN had really done their part and thought it was important that the league do their part. So from that perspective, hopefully we’ve delivered.
FOS: I feel like you do some anti-aging witchcraft. Can you reveal your secrets?
TA: I think I have no secret. If in fact you’re true in your premise, I’ve worked out my whole life, so I think that’s a big part of it. And then in the last, I guess, five years I’ve gotten really into health and wellness and biohacking. I drink tons of water, do the hyperbaric and sauna and cold plunge, red light therapy, I do that every day, intermittent fasting. And then I started doing yoga about two years ago—extremely hot yoga—it’s brutal.
FOS: How hot?
TA: It’s gotta be 100 degrees, infrared. I do it three times a week in the offseason, and then twice a week in season. I felt like I needed the flexibility—it was getting a little stiff as I’ve gotten older—so I started doing that. And it’s been really good for my joints and flexibility, but it’s also been really, really good for my mind. I’ve also been meditating for close to 15 years. So I think all of that.
I eat really clean for the most part. It’s cliché, but I’m reminded, I said this towards the end of my career, I was doing an interview and I said to the reporter, “I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life.” And a former teammate, Babe Laufenberg, read that and called me and said, “You know, nobody says that when they’re in their 20s. They only say that when they’re at the end of their career.” You know, like they’re trying to convince people.
FOS: How do you eat clean on the road?
TA: It’s a little harder just because you don’t see what’s going on in the kitchen and all that. But, typically at home, I will only eat grass-fed beef and pasture-raised chicken and eggs and things like that. While I had a few chicken tenders last night, I typically don’t eat fried foods and any of that type of stuff. So I try to keep it as clean as I can on the road, but that’s a little challenging.
FOS: After launching EIGHT beer, what have you learned about the business the past several years?
TA: I think the first thing that someone like myself might say is, “Well, I didn’t realize it’d be such a challenge,” but I don’t think that’s accurate. I knew from the start that it was going to be a real challenge and a big heavy lift. I called up a good friend of mine. … He runs one of the largest distributorships in America—Andrews Distributing. His name’s Mike McGuire. When I called him, I expected him to say, “Troy, you don’t want to jump into this.” And instead, he gave me enough of a nudge that I said, “O.K.,” and off I went.
I feel really strongly about it. Whether that ultimately prevails, time will tell. But it’s a challenge when you’re going to get some of the big heavyweights, but we’re making progress; we got some really good things in the pipeline. In three or four weeks, [an announcement] should resonate. Right now, we’re only in Oklahoma and Texas, but I’m excited about that and what that [announcement] might do. We are also a major sponsor on some big amphitheaters that are being built in Texas and Oklahoma called Venu. It’s like the AT&T Stadium of amphitheaters. … We had some real learning curves in the early going, some hiccups along the way, which some of it’s to be expected. But when you’re in a consumer business, you can’t really afford a lot of those. It kind of set us back a little bit, but I hired a new CEO. He’s been amazing, and we’ve got new packaging.
A lot of people who know my lifestyle would say, well, beer seems to be a contradiction to what you represent. And I can understand why they might think that. But instead, I think it’s a tremendous complement to my lifestyle because, you know, I do believe in balance. And I think beer unites people. I think it brings people together. It’s a great beverage to celebrate small victories, life’s moments, and I wanted one that was better for you. So that’s really kind of how EIGHT was born, and we’re three ingredients. We’re water, malt, and hops, and organic grains is what we use—antioxidant hops. It’s not just a marketing line. We are the cleanest, best-for-you beer on the market.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
