ESPN Is Choosing Joe Buck Over Troy Aikman

While Joe Buck has a reported new ESPN deal, Troy Aikman is publicly discussing his next destination. Appearing on Dallas station 96.7/1310 The Ticket on Oct. 15, Aikman said, “I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year,” and referred to “where my next landing spot might be,” according to The Dallas Morning News’ account of the interview.

A day earlier, Front Office Sports reported that Aikman had yet to receive a formal offer. For a network that brought these broadcasters to Monday Night Football as a partnership, that is a revealing choice: Buck has a commitment beyond this season, while Aikman is being made to wait.

Both broadcasters joined ESPN from Fox on reported five-year agreements in 2022, putting their original deals in the same renewal season. On Sept. 16, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported a new six-year Buck agreement worth roughly US$108 million, according to TheWrap’s coverage.

Aikman expected his extension before the season. In a Sept. 20 interview with Richard Deitsch, he said he had never entered a contract’s final year since his first Dallas Cowboys agreement and wanted to keep working with Buck, according to Sports Media Watch’s account.

Discussing what Buck’s reported renewal meant for his future, Aikman also questioned how much control he had: “How much of that is my decision, I guess is yet to be determined.”

The Monday Night Football partnership ESPN bought

In the same interview, Aikman said he had “fulfilled whatever obligations they were expecting from me,” including helping repair ESPN’s relationship with the NFL. He credited Buck and others as well. By his account, the network has received what it wanted from his arrival.

ESPN’s own words establish what it valued about the pair. Its March 2022 announcement emphasized their 20 seasons together and six Super Bowl broadcasts. At their introductory media call that May, Jimmy Pitaro welcomed the opportunity while “keeping the longest tenured NFL booth intact,” according to the official transcript.

Pitaro, ESPN’s chairman, has operational and financial responsibility for the company. Burke Magnus, its president of content, oversees the Talent Office and live events. The pressure to explain the different treatment belongs with that leadership.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s reported ESPN pay

Buck’s original contract was reported at US$75 million over five years, an annual average of US$15 million. His new reported deal averages approximately US$18 million, a 20 percent increase, according to the figures in Reuters coverage carried by Gulf Times. All financial figures are in U.S. dollars.

Aikman’s original five-year agreement has been reported at US$90 million, including by Front Office Sports. TheWrap’s 2022 signing report, citing The Athletic, put it at US$92.5 million. Those estimates average US$18 million and US$18.5 million annually, respectively.

Buck’s new reported annual average is therefore close to Aikman’s existing reported pay. The larger US$108 million total covers a longer reported term. The difference that matters to the future of the booth is ESPN’s commitment beyond this season.

Separate contracts, shared booth

Buck has expressed hope that Aikman stays and said the two handle their negotiations separately. “We’ve always kind of kept that stuff separate,” he told Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic, according to Awful Announcing’s Sept. 29 report. In 2022, Aikman reached his ESPN agreement first, and Buck followed after Fox released him from his final contract year there.

Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel, citing an unnamed source, reported that Buck raised the contract tension before the Oct. 12 Rams–Bills game at SoFi Stadium and the two argued. The exchange de-escalated before the broadcast, according to the report. ESPN declined to comment.

ESPN’s public line has been to withhold contract details. In a statement supplied to TheWrap when Buck’s renewal was reported, communications executive Josh Krulewitz said that “we won’t be addressing talent contract specifics publicly before the Super Bowl.” That policy concerns public disclosure and leaves room for private negotiations.

Both remain in ESPN’s announced plans for Super Bowl LXI in February 2027. Its Oct. 11 release lists them on the traditional telecast. The network is relying on the partnership for that telecast while leaving its future unresolved.

ESPN celebrated keeping this booth intact when it hired the pair. Now Aikman is discussing free agency while Buck reportedly has six more years of security. The network should give Aikman the same clarity about his future that it has given his partner.