Skip Bayless says his relationship with Troy Aikman has been resolved

Skip Bayless said things are “great” between him and Troy Aikman after years of discussions that became public when Bayless addressed the rumor that Aikman was gay in his 1996 book “Hell-Bent.”

During an appearance on the latest episode of the “Pardon My Take” podcast with hosts Dan “Big Cat” Katz and PFT commentator (Eric Sollenberger), Bayless explained that Aikman “has been nothing but good for me” after she “came back “were” and walked past it.

“Great. We're in touch, we're friendly,” Bayless said, before asking PFT if he was referring to the controversy over Bayless' book.

“Did you imply or say in the book that he is gay?” PFT asked.

“I didn't say… you obviously haven't read it,” Bayless said, prompting Big Cat to say, “We're not reading it.”

Bayless said he was shocked that the former Cowboys quarterback didn't initially like his book.

“If you read my book, you would like the way I portrayed Troy in my book, because Troy was the hero of that book,” Bayless said. “I liked my portrayal of him, so I signed a book and presented the very first copy of my book to Troy in person at the camp practice field at St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas.

“On the first day of camp, when training ended, I took my book and gave it to him. And I was shocked that he didn't like it originally. But we recovered and he was just great for me. And we text.”

Aikman has not yet addressed Bayless' comments.

In the book, Bayless never said that Aikman was gay — and instead discussed a rumor he said was spread in then-Cowboys head coach Barry Switzer's camp.

Bayless did not pursue the rumor further after speaking to Aikman's agent, Leigh Steinberg, a Dallas police source, a team source and sportscaster Dale Hansen, all of whom said Aikman was not gay.

Aikman made it clear that their rift continued when he publicly criticized Fox Sports' decision to hire Bayless in 2016.

“To say I’m disappointed in the hiring of Skip Bayless would be a huge understatement,” Aikman told Sports Illustrated at the time. “I believe that success is achieved through the acquisition and development of talented, respected and credible individuals, and that does not apply to Skip Bayless.”

Aikman was Fox's lead NFL analyst at the time before moving to ESPN in 2022 – and Bayless left Fox Sports when his contact expired in August to pursue digital work.