Jerry Jones Opens The Door For Troy Aikman As ESPN Contract Nears Its End

Jerry Jones praised Troy Aikman's front-office potential© Image via: X/@NFL_DovKleiman

Jerry Jones thinks there is almost nothing Troy Aikman could not handle in football, short of playing again. The Cowboys owner said so on Wednesday while leaving a two-day owners meeting in New York City. His timing matters. Aikman told a Dallas radio station he will be a free agent once this season ends, and ESPN has not offered him an extension. Jones stopped short of offering a job. Still, when the man who runs the Cowboys praises his old quarterback this broadly, people notice.

Jerry Jones On Troy Aikman's Front-Office Future

A reporter asked Jones whether Aikman could work as an NFL front-office executive. Jones answered without hesitation.

“No, I think when I said no, Troy is very capable, and he's so, really, relatively speaking, he's in his youth as careers go. And he's very capable of doing any one of a number of things, certainly anything to do with football. I don't know of any area, short of getting back out on the field. I don't know of any area that Troy wouldn't be qualified and competent to go into.”

Jones added a personal note, per Mark Maske of Front Office Sports.

“I think the world of Troy. And I'm always very interested and so proud of what he's become, the person as well as the career he's having. And I'm proud of that, and it feels good to have been with him early as a player. So, yes, I pay a lot of attention to him.”

Jerry Jones says he has been following former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman's comments on expiring broadcast deal. When asked about the possibility of Troy shifting to front office work, Jerry expressed confident in his ability to succeed there: https://t.co/IweklsQ8HV

— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) October 21, 2026

Those are compliments, not an offer. Aikman played for Dallas from 1989 to 2000 and won three Super Bowls. The Cowboys have not won one in the 30 years since. Jones also serves as his own general manager and has a habit of keeping family in key roles, so any outside hire would change how the team works.

 Troy Aikman's ESPN Contract And Dolphins Ties

Aikman set the stage himself on Dallas sports-talk station KTCK.

“I'll broadcast through this season, and I'll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens.”

He is in the final year of a five-year ESPN deal worth $18 million annually for Monday Night Football and playoff games. His broadcast partner Joe Buck just agreed to a six-year extension worth more than $100 million. Aikman still has a big assignment ahead, calling Super Bowl LXI in February for ESPN's first Super Bowl telecast.

He has also dipped a toe into team building. The Miami Dolphins hired him as a consultant during the searches that landed general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley. Aikman had never worked in a front office before. Front Office Sports reports that his role covered only those searches and is not a formal ongoing arrangement.

Nothing is official. Aikman has a Super Bowl to call, and his contract ends after it. Jones has made his admiration clear. Neither side has said anything more.