ESPN’s Troy Aikman has been and will be working for the Dolphins. His specific role isn’t known.
So . . . [what would you say you do here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StIcRH_e6zQ)?
Dolphins coach Jeff Hafley was asked on Tuesday whether he has consulted with Aikman and “how do you envision his role during the season with the team”?
“I think right now Troy has been a good sounding board,” Hafley told reporters, via a transcript provided by the team. “He’s a guy that I’ve talked to a few times. We’ve had some really good conversations, and I’ll continue to do that.”
Last week, Aikman said he’ll “continue to help in [ways that are yet to be defined](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/troy-aikman-addresses-his-new-but-still-undefined-role-with-the-dolphins).”
The NFL should require the Dolphins to define Aikman’s role, so that the NFL can then decide whether and to what extent his access to the 31 other teams will be limited when he’s working weekly NFL games during the 2026 season.
Ideally, the league would close the door on these dual roles. But the league let the horse out of the barn when it allowed Tom Brady to both work for Fox and own a piece of the Raiders. Aikman, who has candidly admitted that the Dolphins have hired him because “I have information that they don’t have or can’t get,” is simply strolling across the bridge that Brady built.
Of course, if the NFL were to backtrack now, it would be admitting that it was asleep at the switch with Brady. Still, Pandora’s box has flown open. Until the league slams it shut, all teams should start making offers to any broadcaster whose primary job provides access to information that the individual teams “don’t have or can’t get.”