What’s going on between Troy Aikman, Joe Buck, and ESPN? Here’s what we know.
Troy Aikman is prepared to become a free agent after calling the Super Bowl on ESPN. How did we end up here?
In 2022, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman solved a huge problem at ESPN by shoring up the network’s single-biggest property — Monday Night Football, which was reeling after a season featuring Jason Witten and the infamous Boogermobile.
But just a few months away from the duo calling the Super Bowl at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles, ESPN appears poised to blow up what many view as the NFL’s best broadcasting booth.
Buck and Aikman headed into the season on expiring contracts. In September, Buck agreed to a six-year extension reportedly worth more than $100 million that will keep him on ESPN through the 2032 season. It also includes other gigs, such as hosting Good Morning America and ESPN Jeopardy!
But not only has Aikman not signed a new deal, ESPN is reportedly waiting until the end of the season to open negotiations, according to The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” Aikman told Richard Deitsch on the Sports Media Podcast last month. “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.”
The tension came to a head Monday night while the pair were in Los Angeles to call the Buffalo Bills’ overtime victory over the Rams. Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported Buck and Aikman got into a heated argument about the situation before the broadcast. ESPN has not denied the report.
You wouldn’t have guessed anything was wrong listening to the broadcast, but the situation now threatens the certainty Buck and Aikman delivered to ESPN the past five seasons.
“This doesn’t make sense,” said Traina Thoughts host Jimmy Traina. “This is weird.”
It’s certainly a tough spot for the network, which threatens to have the Super Bowl overrun with questions about Aikman’s future and how things have gotten to this point.
Here’s what we know and don’t know:
What Troy Aikman has said
Aikman appeared on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas Thursday, where he spoke about his future — or lack thereof — at ESPN.
“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,” Aikman said. “I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this year does hold, with the Super Bowl and all that, and where my next landing spot may be.”
Thursday evening, Aikman told Traina calling the Super Bowl under these circumstances is “not a problem at all” but does not expect to be back with ESPN next season.
“It just seems to be where they’re going — that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations,” Aikman said, “We’re in a Super Bowl year. The Super Bowl is Feb. 14. My contract ends in March. It just doesn’t seem logical that if they were gonna keep me, something wouldn’t be in place before that.”
Aikman could not be reached for additional comments.
What Joe Buck has said
In an interview with The Inquirer last month, Buck recalled 2022, when he decided to follow Aikman to ESPN.
At the time, Buck had a year remaining on his contract with Fox, but the network let him out of the deal so he could remain paired with Aikman.
“Troy and I have always kept that stuff separate,” Buck said. “I love him literally like a brother … I followed him to ESPN, all that stuff, but we’re two grown men with careers.”
Buck held out hope things could work out between ESPN and Aikman, but didn’t have insight on where things stood.
“I’ve been in this business long enough to know nothing is a guarantee,” Buck said. “So my only answer to any of that is we’ll see.”
Buck declined to comment further Friday.
What ESPN has said
ESPN declined to comment, and it’s unclear why the network appears ready to tear apart one of the NFL’s best broadcasting duos as it prepares to broadcast its first Super Bowl.
It wouldn’t be the first time ESPN broke up a popular, high-profile booth.
In 2023, ESPN parted ways with longtime NBA analysts Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson as part of cutbacks pushed by parent-company Disney. Van Gundy had called 17 straight NBA Finals alongside play-by-play announcer Matt Breen.
Like Aikman, Van Gundy was widely considered one of the top NBA analysts on TV, and the network struggled to replace him and the chemistry the trio shared.
The network hired former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers and promoted Doris Burke as a new Finals crew alongside Breen. But weeks into the 2023-24 season, Rivers left to coach the Milwaukee Bucks, leading Breen to jokingly thank him for his “many weeks of service.”
To replace Rivers, ESPN hired former Sixers shooter JJ Redick, who only called one NBA Finals for the network before taking the Los Angeles Lakers coaching job. They replaced Redick with Richard Jefferson for the 2025 NBA Finals, and this past season replaced Burke with former La Salle standout Tim Legler, who’s back this season.
Who will call ‘Monday Night Football’ next season?
Buck will obviously be back at the play-by-play announcer. King of Prussia native Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge both signed contract extensions last year to remain as sideline reporters.
But if Aikman doesn’t return, the focus appears to be on former Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, currently in the No. 2 booth at Fox alongside Joe Davis. It would be fitting, considering Olsen also replaced Aikman at Fox.
As Eagles fans remember, Olsen stood out calling the Birds’ narrow Super Bowl LVII loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2023, questioning a late holding call on cornerback James Bradberry.
”They’re going to say he grabs him. He’s got his left hand on his back. I don’t know,” Olsen said during the broadcast. “I think you let them play, finish this thing out. I don’t love that call.”
Olsen’s contract with Fox expires at the end of the season and he hasn’t been shy about wanting to return to a No. 1 booth after being demoted in 2022 in favor of Tom Brady. Olsen also had serious talks with ESPN in 2018 to replace Jon Gruden, but opted to remain in the NFL a few more seasons.
Also looming over everything is Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who is 38 and could be playing his final NFL season. The Athletic previously reported Kelce “would like to call games.” Could ESPN be tempted to make a splash, knowing Buck could help Kelce develop before the network’s next Super Bowl in 2031? Could the network be tempted to make it a three-person booth alongside former Eagles center Jason Kelce, who is calling a handful of games this year on the NFL Network?
That would certainly take things back to the days of Roone Arledge, who originally built Monday Night Football into must-see TV by pairing sports and celebrity.
Where could Aikman land?
If Aikman does leave ESPN, he’d have limited options landing a top broadcasting spot. Fox has Brady under contract through the 2032 season, and Cris Collinsworth is slated to remain on Sunday Night Football through NBC’s next Super Bowl in 2030.
One possible landing spot could be CBS, which moved J.J. Watt into its No. 1 booth this season after Tony Romo’s arrest and subsequent departure from the network.
CBS will broadcast the Super Bowl in 2028, but new parent-company Skydance has to deal with the massive debt it incurred to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery. Does it really want to spend big to land Aikman when Watt has received solid reviews in the booth alongside Jim Nantz?
Then there’s Amazon Prime and Thursday Night Football. The tech giant signed currently analyst Kirk Herbstreit to a new deal, but it reportedly has an out if someone better comes along. Amazon has its sights on current Rams head coach Sean McVay, but could that change if Aikman becomes available?
