It's claimed that ESPN will not offer Troy Aikman a new contract to remain on Monday Night Football beyond the end of the season, instead opting to replace him with a former NFL star and broadcast favorite.

Aikman, 59, has served as the color commentator of MNF on ESPN and ABC since 2002, but his existing five-year, $90 million deal is set to expire after he calls the Super Bowl in February.

After his partner, play-by-play announcer Joe Buck, signed a fresh six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN last month, the expectation was that Aikman would soon receive the same, yet that has not been the case so far, raising questions about the Pro Football Hall of Famer's future.

In fact, things reportedly even became heated between Aikman and Buck as a result of the situation, with it emerging this week that the pair had an argument before Monday's broadcast of the Los Angeles Rams vs. the Buffalo Bills, amid tensions surrounding their respective ESPN contracts.

According to Front Office Sports, Buck "broke the ice" with Aikman on contract talks prior to the game, yet the broadcast partners then "had an argument," a source told the outlet, before it "ultimately de-escalated."

Buck and Aikman then went on to call the game together and gave no indication they had argued prior to going on the air, but it has since emerged that the latter is, in fact, expected to be replaced come the end of the campaign.

According to John Ourand of Puck, former NFL star and broadcast favorite Greg Olsen, who is also a free agent at the end of this season, is the frontrunner to take over from Aikman in 2027.

"My best sources are predicting that Greg Olsen will wind up in ESPN's Monday Night Football booth next season," Ourand wrote in his latest The Varsity newsletter, per Pro Football Talk.

Olsen, 41, quickly established himself as one of the best analysts in the NFL when he moved into TV following his retirement in 2021 and joined FOX, yet his reputation took a hit before the start of the 2024 NFL season when he was demoted to the network's No. 2 team following the arrival of Tom Brady.

The NFL's greatest ever quarterback was signed to a mammoth 10-year, $375 million contract by FOX, and many thought the decision to demote Olsen as a result was harsh, especially given that he has won multiple Emmys for his on-screen work.

Like Aikman, however, Olsen's contract expires at the end of the 2026-27 season, and, according to industry insiders, he has yet to engage in extension talks with FOX, opening the door for him to pursue a No. 1 analyst role elsewhere.

However, Olsen is expected to be a highly sought-after free agent. CBS Sports is also looming as a potential landing spot for the former Carolina Panthers, Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks star, but it appears ESPN could well be the frontrunner for his signature as things stand.

Addressing reports about his contract on Thursday morning, Aikman appeared to suggest his future lies away from ESPN and remained coy about the situation with Buck, telling 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas-Fort Worth: "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."