The day has finally arrived. Super Bowl 57 is set to kick off with what should be an exciting matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs. FOX has the broadcasting rights for Super Bowl 57, but for the first time since Super Bowl 39, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will not man FOX’s broadcast booth.
2023 marks the end of the broadcasting rights agreement, and the NFL will move to a four-year rotation in 2024 with the addition of ESPN/ABC as hosts. With a new No. 1 crew, what happened to Buck and Aikman?
Why Isn’t Joe Buck Announcing Super Bowl 57?
The 2022 offseason shook up the NFL’s broadcasting world. With Amazon Prime being added as the host for Thursday Night Football and ESPN completely reworking its No. 1 crew, CBS was the only commentating crew that remained unchanged. ESPN’s moves caused the most chaos, though.
Steve Levy, Brian Griese, and Louis Riddick headlined ESPN’s Monday Night Football crew the past two seasons. Wanting to stay competitive with NBC, CBS, and FOX, ESPN scrapped the team and lured Buck and Aikman over from FOX to take over Monday Night Football duties.
With ABC/ESPN getting added to the Super Bowl channel rotation, the duo will most likely get a chance to call their seventh NFL championship together. The last was Super Bowl 54 in 2020 when Patrick Mahomes won his first Super Bowl. However, Buck and Aikman’s next opportunity won’t come until Super Bowl 60 in 2026.
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So with the 19-year FOX veterans at ESPN, who’s the No. 1 crew calling the Super Bowl tonight? Kevin Burkhardt, who joined FOX in 2013 as a play-by-play announcer, replaces Buck on the top crew. Former NFL TE and broadcasting newcomer Greg Olsen joins him.
Burkhardt has set himself up to become the featured play-by-play announcer for the future of the NFL on FOX, but Olsen may not be so lucky. With Tom Brady making his retirement official, FOX may be inclined to replace Olsen with the future Hall of Fame QB in the near future.
FOX gets a quick turnaround to host again for Super Bowl 59. Will Brady make his eleventh Super Bowl appearance and his first as an announcer? While fans may miss the classic combo of Buck and Aikman in the Super Bowl, Burkhardt and Olsen have also provided great commentary.