Troy Aikman reveals whether NFL called him after calling out refs in Chiefs game

Troy Aikman was on the call for Kansas City’s Divisional Round win against the Houston Texans. The ESPN analyst was not afraid to call out officiating during the game, particularly when it came to flags thrown after Patrick Mahomes was hit. To say he was not happy would be an understatement.

“He’s a runner and I could not disagree with that one more,” Aikman said after Henry To’oTo’o was penalized in the third quarter. “He barely gets hit. That’s the second penalty now that’s been called against the Texans.”

It was the second incident of the game where Mahomes drew a flag. Since then, the topic has been a popular one and will only elevate as the Chiefs face off against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl. Aikman is not the only one who has been upset with the state of officiating.

Given how harsh the comments were, Jimmy Traina of SI’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast wondered if somebody from the league had reached out. Aikman works for one of the NFL’s top television analysts and it occurred in the middle of a playoff game.

The answer was a simple one from Aikman.

“No,” Aikman said. “I never have. I’ve never heard from the league.”

Even through all the criticisms, Aikman understands what officials are going through. At times, the job can seem like an impossible one. Replay has been inserted to help them out but outside noise has not stopped about the referees.

“I know the officials have a tough job,” Aikman said. “The scrutiny that they’re under, as we’ve gotten more advanced with instant replay, those guys, it seems, have become more and more scrutinized. And the game has not become less controversial. It’s become more controversial.”

Calls in favor of Kansas City were a topic of discussion in the AFC Championship game against Buffalo too. Aikman was not on the call, instead having CBS’ Jim Nantz and Tony Romo. The Super Bowl will head to FOX as Kevin Burkhardt will have his second-ever Super Bowl while Tom Brady gets his first as a broadcaster.

To this point, Aikman has been the most critical of anybody, at least on air. The NFL has still not reached out to him and who knows if they have any plans to. For now, officiating and Kansas City just remains a storyline for those of us watching from the outside.