Sean Payton In Negotiations With FOX Sports About No. 1 Analyst Role

Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports reports that former Saints HC Sean Payton is negotiating with Fox Sports to potentially become their No. 1 analyst alongside Joe Buck.

Troy Aikman is reportedly finalizing a contract to either join ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” or Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football.”

Sources tell McCarthy that Payton could expect a contract worth $10 million annually.

There has been buzz about Payton taking a job with FOX for a while now so this shouldn’t come as a big surprise. It’s possible that Payton could have a short stint in television before returning to coaching at some point with many connecting the dots between Payton and the Cowboys’ job, depending on how things go in 2022.

FOX added Greg Olsen as their No. 2 analyst last season and he is expected to be considered for the No. 1 job as well. Olsen has reportedly been approached by Amazon about a studio gig on “TNF” and several NFL teams have show interest in him coaching or joining their front office.

Sean McVay, John Lynch and Philip Rivers are some others names mentioned by McCarthy as candidates to watch for FOX.

Payton, 58, began his NFL coaching career with the Eagles as their QBs coach back in 1997. He later joined the Giants for three seasons before the Cowboys hired him as their assistant HC/QBs coach for the 2003 season. 

The Saints brought Payton in as their head coach for the 2006 season and he’s remained in New Orleans since then. He agreed to an extension that will keep him in New Orleans through the 2024 season back in 2019. 

For his career, Payton has led the Saints to a record of 152-89 (63.1 percent), which includes nine playoff appearances and one Super Bowl title in 2009. 

We’ll have more on Payton and the FOX as the news is available.