At this point, there don’t seem to be many people who could imagine Troy Aikman calling games with anyone other than Joe Buck. Both Aikman and Buck were entering the final year of their contracts with ESPN at the start of the season. Less than a week ago, the network reportedly signed Buck to a six-year deal, with the veteran announcer now set to stay at ESPN for many more years to come. That, however, cannot be said about Aikman, at least for now.
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Aikman has yet to sign his first contract extension with ESPN, and his existing deal will expire following the conclusion of the 2026 season. Now, amid the uncertainty, Aikman has addressed the delay in his contract talks, admitting that it’s the first time in his career since being drafted by the Dallas Cowboys that he is entering the final year of a deal.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” said Aikman on the Sports Media podcast with Richard Deitsch. “I’ve never gone into the last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. And so I thought that it would be done. It’s not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anyone’s guess. And it’s really not something that I’m putting a lot of energy into.”
After retiring from the NFL, Aikman spent a couple of decades at FOX as the network’s lead NFL analyst alongside Buck. In 2022, however, Aikman found himself amid uncertainty after his contract with FOX expired.
“I’ve really enjoyed my time with Fox, and I’m hopeful that continues. I’ve loved working with Joe [Buck],” he said in 2022. “We’re at a bit of an impasse, and how that shakes out, I honestly don’t know.”
Fast forward to now, and Troy Aikman has found himself in a similar situation. ESPN acquired both Buck and Aikman ahead of the 2022 season to lead its Monday Night Football broadcasts. Aikman reportedly signed a five-year, $90 million deal, while Buck agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal. Now, however, Buck has agreed to a new six-year deal, but Aikman currently remains unsigned.
For now, though, Aikman has admitted that he has had no conversations with ESPN executives about what Buck’s latest deal with the network means for his own extension. At the same time, the Cowboys legend confirmed that he’d still like to work with Joe Buck for many more years to come.
“How much of that is my decision, I guess is yet to be determined,” he told Deitsch. “Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100%.”
The 2026 season is now underway, with Troy Aikman beginning his fifth year with ESPN. Whether the network will sign him to an extension during the season remains to be seen.