Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have spent 25 years calling NFL games together, but their ESPN contract negotiations have reportedly brought tension into a partnership that has lasted longer than any other booth pairing in league history. With Buck already locked into a new deal at ESPN, Aikman is still waiting for an offer, and the situation reportedly boiled over before Monday night’s broadcast.
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“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,” Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported Wednesday. “An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment.”
The report comes as the network prepares for its first Super Bowl broadcast in February, with Buck and Aikman expected to work together on the call. However, Aikman’s future beyond this season remains uncertain.
The difference in their contract situations has become harder to ignore since Buck agreed to a reported six-year extension worth $108 million in September. The deal will keep him as ESPN’s lead play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football and put him on the call for the network’s next Super Bowl in 2031. Aikman, meanwhile, is in the final season of his five-year, $90 million contract, which expires after Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027.
Aikman has already spoken publicly about the lack of progress. During an appearance on Sports Media with Richard Deitsch, the Hall of Fame quarterback said he expected the matter to be settled before the season began.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” Aikman said in September. “I’ve never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. So, I thought that it would be done. It’s not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anybody’s guess, and it’s just not something that I’m really putting a lot of energy into.”
Despite his frustration, Aikman did not rule out staying with ESPN. He said he was not putting much energy into the situation at the time, leaving the next move to the network and its ongoing negotiations.
Buck and Aikman both joined ESPN in 2022 after leaving Fox. Aikman signed first, and Buck followed a few weeks later after Fox let him out of the final year of his contract. This time, the situation has flipped. With his extension locked in, Buck is hoping his longtime partner stays right beside him in the booth.
Joe Buck Wants the Partnership to Continue
Joe Buck has also spoken about the contract situation. On Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic, he said he hoped Aikman and ESPN could work out a deal.
“I legitimately love the guy like a brother,” Buck said, reflecting on their 25 years together. “We’re basically the same age; I’m 57, he’s 59. We’ve both been through divorce. We’re both girl dads. Twenty-five years, you’re sharing a lot of life together. Forget games and in the booth and all that stuff.
“I’m obviously hopeful, to say the least, that something gets done. But that’s kind of his world, and ESPN’s world, and I’ve got to kind of mind my own yard in that stuff. I think that’s the best way to be.”
That leaves ESPN with a decision to make after building its Monday Night Football coverage around the duo. Aikman remains one of the network’s central NFL voices, and losing him would mean finding a new analyst to work alongside Buck after decades of shared experience.
There are other names who could enter the conversation if Aikman and ESPN fail to agree. Greg Olsen is approaching free agency, while Sean McVay has been mentioned as a potential broadcasting target if he ever leaves coaching. Pat McAfee has also been drawn into speculation about the booth, though he recently denied that any discussions had taken place about replacing Aikman.
For now, none of those possibilities confirms that Aikman is leaving. The immediate issue is that ESPN has secured Buck for the long term without making a formal offer to his longtime partner.
The reported argument was settled before kickoff, and their broadcast proceeded normally. But with the Super Bowl approaching and Aikman’s contract nearing its end, the network’s next move could determine whether one of football’s most familiar announcing duos stays together.