ESPN analyst Troy Aikman will see some restrictions in the lead-up to "Monday Night Football" broadcasts this season after he took a role as a Miami Dolphins consultant earlier this year, an NFL spokesman told Front Office Sports.
The restrictions are the same that Fox analyst Tom Brady has faced the past two seasons due to his part ownership of the Las Vegas Raiders.
Aikman, like Brady, will have to remotely attend production meetings -- when a broadcast crew meets with a game's head coaches and key players -- and will not be allowed to attend practices at team facilities.
"There have been no issues with Tom over the last two seasons," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement to Front Office Sports. "It is up to the coaches and clubs what they share with him. If they share information they shouldn't, then that's on them. The same parameters that pertained to Tom last season will continue this year and also will apply to Troy."
McCarthy added that Aikman and Brady can conduct interviews outside team facilities and are not prevented from broadcasting games involving their respective clubs.
Aikman has been the lead color commentator for "Monday Night Football" alongside Joe Buck since 2022. Aikman and Buck have called games together since 2002.
The Dolphins are not scheduled to play on "Monday Night Football" this season, something Aikman pointed out earlier this month in an interview with the "Dallas Dialogue with Dale" show.
"The Dolphins are not expected to be very good this year. They're getting out of cap hell, so there's no Monday night game with the Dolphins this year," Aikman said.
Aikman told the show that he had spoken with commissioner Roger Goodell and that Goodell was "fine with what I'm doing and my role."
"I think that anyone that's behind a mic that's calling a game, there's a conflict of interest because you have relationships in this business," Aikman added.
In February, Aikman will be part of ESPN and ABC's broadcast of Super Bowl LXI. When Brady was on Fox's Super Bowl broadcast two years ago, some of the restrictions were lifted for that game; McCarthy's statement did not address whether a similar decision would be made for Aikman.
Aikman joined the Dolphins in January to advise on their search for a new general manager. The team hired Green Bay Packers vice president of player personnel Jon-Eric Sullivan that month.
