l since 2006, with Buck and Aikman set to lead the game from the booth (they have also been a big part of its marketing). But with their rich deals, nothing can be assured, and in the TV business, any opportunity to get a better deal or sign talent that could make a difference is typically taken fast.

At a conference room in the InterContinental Barclay Hotel in Midtown Manhattan last week, NFL executive VP and chief media officer Hans Schroeder was asked about the Buck-Aikman-ESPN impasse.

Schroeder, who is responsible for managing the league's relationships with its media partners, said that it had  no concern  with the situation.

 I don't know if you watched the game on Monday night. It was an incredible game. An incredible game, and incredible coverage by Joe and Troy, just like they always do,  Schroeder told assembled journalists in the room, adding that the league was proud of Disney's coverage, including its numerous altcasts with the Manning brothers, Pat McAfee and Star Wars, and with all the effort going into next year's Super Bowl.  I think the fans are deserving of first-class game production, which Joe and Troy have - I think going back to '02 or something was their first year - a history of doing that as well as anyone, and I think you'll continue to see them do that as well as anyone. 

Suffice it to say, it is not the story that the league or Disney want to be talking about right now.

And yet, the ESPN broadcast booth drama underscores what has been perhaps the most tumultuous and uncertain year ever for NFL broadcasters.

At CBS, Tony Romo's preseason arrest for operating a vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) led to his eventual ouster from the network's broadcast booth. His replacement, JJ Watt, was named the permanent successor last week when he was given a multiyear contract extension, with Skydance Sports chief David Berson praising him as  insightful, entertaining, passionate, meticulous in his preparation, and the ultimate teammate. 

Greg Olsen is in the final year of his deal at Fox, and is looking for a new home, while current NFL names like Travis Kelce and Sean McVay have bubbled up as potential TV talent in chats with agents and network execs.

A senior NFL source told THR that the league doesn't micromanage the personnel decisions of its broadcast partners, and that it isn't involved in the calls being made when it comes to talent. But that doesn't mean the league doesn't have any say.

Sources at both the league and its rights partners paint the conversation around broadcasting as an ongoing conversation, with the league always interested in improving coverage of the game. More precisely, the league's NFL deals require a quality of production from its partners that includes an A-team broadcast booth that can deliver a broadcast worthy of the league and its viewers ( first-class production,  as Schroeder said). It might be a mushy benchmark, but it does mean that more out there ideas like the Manningcast, the McAfeecase or animated altcasts remain secondary considerations, and that the main booth needs to have seasoned or otherwise A-list talent (like Tom Brady, who made his broadcast booth debut for Fox).

The drama matters, because the NFL matters. While no real fans will turn off their NFL games because of some broadcast booth drama, the entire situation is a rare speed bump for what is otherwise the most reliable bet in all of TV. And yet: The broadcast booths may change, but there's no reason to think that the NFL will ever become less relevant, or less watched.