For former Dallas Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, their broadcasting partnership was never just about calling NFL games together. The two had developed a genuine friendship over their two decades in the booth, even supporting each other through difficult phases of their personal lives. In fact, during their freshly divorced period in the early 2010s, the duo started taking offseason trips together, visiting places like Mexico, Florida, and California while regularly playing golf.

The chemistry was equally evident on television as the duo spent nearly 25 years broadcasting for FOX and ESPN. Now, however, that relationship has hit a rough patch. It reportedly started when ESPN signed Buck on a new deal, while Aikman remained unsigned. It escalated during the Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Rams Monday Night Football matchup earlier this month.

But according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, the tension was brewing even before Aikman and Buck joined ESPN in 2022. The Athletic recently spoke to sources who were aware of the reported feud between Aikman and Buck at SoFi Stadium. Per Marchand, before the argument, Aikman had an hour-long chat with ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, where the two discussed the deteriorating relationship between Aikman and Buck and whether the broadcasters could continue working together.

Aikman reportedly said yes. However, things escalated later that day. According to sources who spoke to The Athletic, the argument began when Buck approached Aikman, who wasn’t talking to Buck, and asked:

“You are not going to f***ing talk to me?”

Marchand reported that Aikman believed Buck was deliberately trying to create a situation in which he would appear to be the reasonable person, and Aikman would look like the difficult one. But as the argument continued, Buck defended himself, saying:

“I’m not the reason you don’t have a contract.” Aikman, meanwhile, responded, “I just never thought you’d do it to me.”

ESPN acquired both Troy Aikman and Joe Buck on five-year deals in 2022. While Aikman signed a five-year, $90 million deal, Buck agreed to a five-year, $75 million deal. The deal was set to expire with ESPN’s first Super Bowl in February 2027. However, as both Buck and Aikman entered the final year of their contract, the network signed the former to a six-year, $108 million extension, while Aikman remained unsigned.

However, ESPN and Buck agreed on a deal secretly without keeping Aikman in the loop. And per Marchand, ESPN had no plan to make Buck’s contract public. Under the new agreement, Buck received a 17.9% raise and an additional year beyond his original contract. But at the same time, the network and Buck didn’t necessarily have an obligation to tell Aikman because the two broadcasters had separate contracts.

But from Aikman’s perspective, the situation was different.

He had spent nearly 25 years working alongside Buck, as the duo built their broadcasting career together. And the network secretly extending Buck without telling Aikman didn’t sit well with the former Cowboys quarterback.

Buck, however, believed that Troy Aikman was responsible for his situation with ESPN.

As Marchand reported, before signing with ESPN, Aikman wanted to receive a salary comparable to Tony Romo, who had signed a 10-year, $180 million contract with CBS, making $18 million annually. Aikman wanted to match that figure. According to The Athletic, Buck felt that Aikman had handled his personal contract negotiations independently without necessarily considering how decisions affected their partnership.

“Aikman took Buck’s secretiveness as a betrayal, while Buck felt it was similar to how Aikman conducted his personal business throughout their run together,” Marchand wrote.

At the same time, Buck still had a year left in his contract with FOX while Aikman was all set to leave for ESPN. Evidently, Buck experienced the same situation Aikman is experiencing now with ESPN.

Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that Aikman and Buck’s rocky relationship wasn’t just about the contract situations. In fact, since the duo joined ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Buck and Aikman have gone through five different producers and directors.

Per Marchand’s reporting, their working relationship with the production staff was one of the reasons behind their instability. According to sources familiar with Buck’s perspective, Aikman regularly shouted instructions at producers and demanded specific replays during broadcasts.

“They got rid of them because you were screaming at them,” Buck reportedly told Aikman during their argument at SoFi Stadium.

However, sources familiar with Aikman’s perspective offered a different take, suggesting that Buck knew how to manipulate situations to get what he wanted. As tensions between the two continued to escalate, ESPN ultimately appeared more inclined to stick with Buck rather than invest further in Aikman, particularly given the deteriorating relationship between the longtime broadcast partners.

Aikman, meanwhile, has previously defended his argument with Buck, while acknowledging he will be a free agent after next year’s Super Bowl.

“There’s probably a time and a place for all that,” said Aikman. “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.”

Per reports, Troy Aikman and his representatives approached ESPN to discuss a new contract, eyeing a $30 million per year deal. However, ESPN informed Aikman’s representatives that it wanted to pause the negotiations until after the Super Bowl. For now, Aikman remains unsigned and will hit the broadcasting free-agent market next year.