Glendale, Arizona, February 3, 2008. Troy Aikman and Joe Buck had just called one of the most improbable Super Bowls ever played: Eli Manning wriggling out of a sack, David Tyree pinning a ball to his helmet, the Giants ending New England’s perfect season. Fox threw a party for the crew at the hotel where most of the broadcast team was staying. But Aikman skipped it. 

An hour after the final whistle, he and his wife were at a quiet restaurant table in a different hotel instead. Fellow analyst Ron Jaworski found him there, still buzzing about the helmet catch. Aikman couldn’t match the energy. He felt nothing, and later admitted, “I could not be more miserable.” If this was the peak of the job, he told her, he was in the wrong one. Then something changed. 

He has never been sure why, but Aikman said he has enjoyed it more and more every year, feeling that he’s done something worthwhile when he leaves stadiums, and that he doesn’t see the end coming anytime soon. But, eighteen years later, that is the job slipping away.

“As I’m into my last year at ESPN, I’m realizing that this is something that could very well be taken away from me,” Aikman said, posting a video on his Instagram. “For the first time, I’m realizing how much I really do — I’ve always enjoyed it. I’ve always known that. But until you risk having something taken away from you, I think sometimes you tend to maybe take things for granted.”

Aikman’s comments come as his future at ESPN remains unresolved. He is looking forward to finishing the season and calling Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium, but his contract is set to expire after the game, with the agreement ending in March. ESPN has not announced an extension.

The uncertainty is not entirely new. In September, Aikman revealed that he had expected to resolve his contract situation before the season began. “I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” he told Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media Podcast. “I’ve never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys.” He added that when, or whether, a new deal would be reached was anyone’s guess.

The tension between Aikman and his partner, Joe Buck, escalated before the Week 5 Rams-Bills game. Front Office Sports reported that the two had a heated argument before the October 12 broadcast, with their differing contract situations forming part of the dispute. The report also said the disagreement de-escalated before they went on air. ESPN is rumored to have discussed pairing Buck with another broadcaster in the future, and Buck was open to it.

Reports also indicated that Aikman was not included in discussions about a potential change to Buck’s broadcasting partnership. However, the precise nature of those conversations and ESPN’s intentions for Aikman’s role have not been publicly established.

Buck signed a six-year extension worth more than $100 million while Aikman entered the final year of his ESPN contract without a publicly announced extension. The deal, reported at approximately $108 million, secures Buck’s position well beyond the upcoming Super Bowl. ESPN, meanwhile, has declined to discuss individual talent contracts publicly ahead of its first Super Bowl broadcast. The network’s executive vice president of communications, Josh Krulewitz, said its focus was on delivering the season’s coverage and the February event. That difference sparked questions about whether the network intends to retain both broadcasters.

Aikman has also made clear that he would prefer to continue working with Buck. In September, he told Deitsch that the possibility of staying alongside his longtime partner would be a factor in his decision, adding, “Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100 percent.” The two have called NFL games together since 2002, first at Fox and then at ESPN from 2022.

Recently, Aikman acknowledged that he would welcome a conversation with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones about helping the franchise. His experience as a three-time Super Bowl champion and his advisory work with the Miami Dolphins have given him exposure to the front office side of football.

“I would welcome any conversation with Jerry, and quite honestly, I don’t know if there ever would be an opportunity,” Aikman said, speaking with Mike Fisher. “But if Jerry came to me and felt in his heart that I could lend some services that would help make them better, I’d have a hard time not taking a good look at that.”

Aikman’s experience with Miami offers a more concrete example of his work beyond the broadcast booth. In January 2026, the Dolphins brought him in to advise owner Stephen Ross during their search for a general manager. Aikman participated in the process and offered input on candidates, but he was not seeking the general manager position himself. The assignment was temporary, and he has no formal, ongoing consulting agreement with the franchise.

Jerry Jones, too, has appreciated Aikman’s capabilities, but neither party has announced a job offer or an agreement.

“No, I think when I say no, Troy is very capable. And he’s so, really, relatively speaking, he’s in his youth, as careers go. And he’s very capable of doing any one of a number of things, certainly anything to do with football. I don’t know of any area short of getting back out on the field. I don’t know of any area that Troy Aikman wouldn’t be qualified and competent to go into,” Jones said, according to Sports Illustrated.

Jones’s comments amount to an endorsement of Aikman’s abilities, not a signal that a hiring process is underway. Aikman has left the door open to a return to Dallas, but there is no confirmed vacancy, offer or agreement involving him. Aikman’s priority right now is to finish the season and prepare for the Super Bowl.

The timing makes the next few months significant for both Aikman and ESPN. The network has named him alongside Buck, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge for Super Bowl LXI, its first production of the game. That commitment covers the current season, though, not necessarily what comes afterward. ESPN’s official announcement confirms the broadcast team’s assignment.

Beyond that, he can pursue another broadcasting opportunity or explore more football operations roles. Aikman has also pointed to his business interests, including Eight Beer, as part of the range of possibilities he could consider. He has not announced a decision to leave broadcasting or committed to a particular next step.

For now, the situation is unresolved. Aikman has said he believes ESPN may be preparing to go in a different direction, citing the lack of contract negotiations, but the network has not publicly confirmed that it will part ways with him. The question is no longer about whether Aikman will remain at ESPN. It is whether the network will offer him a future worth staying for or if his next move will take him back to the franchise where his NFL legacy began.