It’s not long ago that former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and ESPN commentator Troy Aikman said he’d like to keep working with his longtime booth partner, Joe Buck, in the near future. “Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100%,” said Aikman. His comments came after ESPN reportedly signed Buck on a six-year deal, but Aikman himself remained unsigned.

Things escalated this week during the Monday Night Football matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Los Angeles Rams when Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported that Buck and Aikman had an argument before the game. In his report, Glasspiegel wrote:

“On Monday night, before the Rams took on the Bills at SoFi Stadium, the site of this season’s Super Bowl, Buck “broke the ice” on this unspoken tension, and he and Aikman had an argument, a source said. It ultimately de-escalated, and the two had a broadcast in which viewers never would have been able to decipher that something was amiss.”

However, Aikman has broken his silence on his reported argument with Buck, while also addressing his future with the network.

“There’s probably a time and a place for all that,” Aikman said this morning, per Joseph Hoyt. “I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened. I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have worked together for more than two decades. The veteran announcers joined ESPN back in 2022, on their respective five-year deals. Buck and Aikman were entering the final year of their deals in the 2026 season. But while the network reportedly extended Buck on a six-year, $108 million deal, Aikman currently remains unsigned.

That means Buck will remain at ESPN for years to come, while Aikman becomes a free agent after the 2026 season concludes. Aikman has previously acknowledged the contract delays with ESPN during the season and sounded amazed, considering he’s entering the final year of a deal for the first time since the Cowboys drafted him.

“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” said Aikman. “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.”

The 2026 season carries significant weight for both Aikman and Buck as well as for ESPN, considering the network will be hosting the Super Bowl for the first time. For now, it’s clear that Aikman is looking forward to announcing the Super Bowl LXI in February next year with Buck.

But at the same time, his future with ESPN remains uncertain. If he becomes a free agent next offseason, there’s no denying that he’ll be the top candidate in the broadcasting free agency. While nothing is concrete, CBS and Amazon Prime Video could target Troy Aikman next year if he leaves ESPN.

For broader context, CBS has parted ways with Tony Romo after his OWI arrest. For now, JJ Watt has been named as his replacement for the rest of the season alongside Jim Nantz. For the next season, Aikman could be an option.

At the same time, Prime Video may consider him, as the network previously considered Aikman while assembling its NFL broadcast team in 2022. Whether the network will show interest in him again remains to be seen. For now, Aikman is all set to become a free agent next year.