Sports | May 14, 2018 11:41 am

Fox Slots Aikman and Buck into New ‘Thursday Night Football’ Lineup

Network's top Sunday broadcast team will now also anchor its Thursday game coverage.

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck attend Gala Celebrating Syracuse University's S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications 40th Anniversary at Mandarin Oriental Hotel on May 3, 2005 in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

Patrick McMullan via Getty Images

By Evan Bleier @itishowitis

Days after ESPN’s plan for its revamped Monday Night Football team were finalized, Fox has locked its lineup for the network’s new Thursday Night Football broadcast into place.

To make sure TNF—which will cost Fox $3.3 billion for five years—gets off on the right foot, the network will be using two linchpins of its Sunday NFL coverage: Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.

Under the reported terms of the deal, Buck and Aikman will continue to work most of the top Fox games on Sunday, but will have some weeks off and be the only broadcast team to work the Thursday night game.

Fox Sports president Eric Shanks previously told Newsday that the networks goal “was to establish a sustainable plan for the long haul,” so it’s likely Aikman and Buck will be part of TNF for the foreseeable future.

Although details have yet to be announced, it’s believed Fox’s pregame coverage on Thursday night will be fronted by a team anchored by New York Giants Hall of Famer Michael Strahan.