Joe Buck and Troy Aikman: Videos fuel tension after $108 million ESPN deal

Videos from before Monday Night Football showed Joe Buck and Troy Aikman apart ahead of the Los Angeles Rams’ game against the Buffalo Bills. The footage, recorded Monday at SoFi Stadium, surfaced after Front Office Sports reported that the commentators argued over their contract situations with ESPN.

Flea Flicker Football posted one clip of Buck talking with his wife, ESPN reporter Michelle Beisner-Buck, and another of Aikman heading toward the booth without him. The outlet said the two were near the Monday Night Countdown set for about an hour but were not seen together or speaking. The clips show them apart, but they do not capture the argument that, according to the report, took place later in the booth.

Aikman says he’ll be a free agent after the Super Bowl

According to a source cited by Front Office Sports, Buck “broke the ice” by bringing up the tension surrounding their contracts, and the conversation turned into an argument before it cooled down. The two called the game as usual, and viewers would not have been able to tell that anything had happened. ESPN declined to comment.

The contract gap is hard to ignore. Buck signed a six-year extension with ESPN reportedly worth $108 million, while Aikman, whose contract expires after the Super Bowl in February 2027, said he has not received a formal offer. His current five-year deal pays him about $18 million per season. ESPN has not publicly announced the terms of Buck’s contract.

A day after the report came out, Aikman addressed the situation on Dallas radio station 96.7 The Ticket. He did not directly confirm that he had argued with Buck, but he did not dismiss the reported tension either. “I don’t know if now is the time,” he said, adding that it was not hard to understand what had happened. He then said he would work through the season and become a free agent at the end of the year.

Aikman also said he is looking forward to seeing what opportunities come after the Super Bowl and referred to his possible “next landing spot.” CBS has been mentioned as one possibility after parting ways with Tony Romo; J.J. Watt is currently working in the network’s top NFL booth. However, there has been no announcement that Aikman will replace him. Pat McAfee, whose name also came up in the speculation, said there had never been talks about putting him in the booth and that he does not want to be a football analyst.

Buck and Aikman have worked together since 2002, first at Fox and, since 2022, at ESPN. For now, they are scheduled to call Monday Night Football’s game between the Washington Commanders and San Francisco 49ers. But ESPN’s decision on Aikman’s future could determine whether this season ending with Super Bowl LXI in February is the longtime partners’ last in the booth together.