Joe Buck’s future at ESPN is settled, but Troy Aikman’s is not, and that contrast has created an unusual question around one of the NFL’s most established broadcast partnerships.
Buck reportedly agreed to a six-year extension worth about $108 million, ensuring he will remain the voice of Monday Night Football well into the 2030s.
Aikman, meanwhile, is entering the final season of the five-year, $90 million deal he signed when the pair left Fox for ESPN in 2022. The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback admitted he expected his own situation to be handled by now.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” Aikman said on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast. “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.”
ESPN talks haven’t produced a deal
That uncertainty is especially striking because Buck and Aikman have been together in the booth since 2002. Their 25th season as a team makes them the longest-running NFL commentary partnership, and Aikman made clear that continuing alongside Buck matters to him.
“Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100 percent,” Aikman said. “How much of that is my decision, I guess is yet to be determined.”
He also made clear that he is not obsessing over the situation, adding: “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.”
Super Bowl assignment before any long-term decision
The timing gives the situation another angle. Buck and Aikman are scheduled to call Super Bowl LXI in February, which will be ESPN’s first Super Bowl broadcast.
That means the network’s premier NFL team will be working the biggest game in American sports while one half of the duo is approaching the end of his contract.
“With this historic season for ESPN now underway, our entire focus is on bringing fans the best possible football coverage, culminating with our first Super Bowl,” ESPN executive Josh Krulewitz said.
“To that end, we won’t be addressing talent contract specifics publicly before the Super Bowl.”
That leaves Aikman in an unusual position: secure enough to call the network’s biggest football property, but without clarity about whether he will still be there afterward.
Other major broadcasters could have openings in 2027, which would give Aikman alternatives if ESPN doesn’t extend him. His preference, though, appears obvious.
Buck is staying. Aikman wants to stay with him. The only unresolved question is whether ESPN will make that happen.
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