Aikman Expects to Leave ESPN as Buck Signs New Deal
Troy Aikman expects to leave ESPN after this season, and his long run in the Monday Night Football booth with Joe Buck looks headed for an end. Aikman told Dallas radio station 96.7 The Ticket that he will broadcast through the season and will be a free agent when it finishes. A free agent is a broadcaster whose contract has run out and who is free to sign with any network.
The timing is what makes the news stand out. The Guardian reports that Buck has agreed to a new ESPN deal worth about $108 million over six seasons. That is a big step up from his previous five-year contract, which paid $15 million a year. Aikman's current five-year deal, worth $90 million, runs out after ESPN's Super Bowl broadcast in February.
If the partnership ends then, Buck and Aikman will have called seven Super Bowls together. They have worked the NFL side by side for nearly 25 years, first on Fox and then at ESPN, where they joined in 2022 to call Monday Night Football, the network's weekly prime-time NFL game.
Things have not been smooth. Reuters reported that Aikman acknowledged a rift between the two. Front Office Sports reported that the pair argued at SoFi Stadium before the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Buffalo Bills on October 12, after Buck raised tension over their contracts. A First for Sports report carried by Yahoo Sports says Buck signed his new deal without telling Aikman.
Aikman has said he expects ESPN to go in a different direction. He has also claimed the network does not want to renew his contract. Yahoo Sports reported that ESPN had not made a formal renewal offer to Aikman as of October 14. ESPN has said it will not discuss talent contract specifics publicly before the Super Bowl.
On the air, the friction has been hard to spot. The New York Post reported that the two showed no visible tension on Monday Night Football after the argument. Their work in the booth will continue for now, and the Super Bowl in February will be the last big game they call together under their current deals.
For viewers, the next question is who sits beside Buck once that deal is over. ESPN has not said publicly what it plans to do, and it will not talk about contracts until after the Super Bowl. The network will also produce its first live Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium next year, which means the booth lineup will be a story to watch as much as the games themselves.
