Troy Aikman Just Seemed to Confirm Rift With Joe Buck and ESPN. His Next Career Move Is an Obvious One.

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have been calling NFL games together since 2002. But now it seems like that partnership is nearing its end and could lead to some awkward moments between them for the rest of the 2026 NFL season.

The two broadcasting stars have been a force over their 25 years of sharing a booth. They were the lead team at Fox Sports up until 2022 when ESPN signed them away to be the faces of Monday Night Football.

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Last month, The Athletic reported that Buck and ESPN had agreed to a new six-year contract extension. Aikman, who is in the final year of his deal with the network, hasn’t received a similar offer and that has apparently led to a rift between Aikman and Buck, which came to the surface earlier this week.

Front Office Sports’ Ryan Glasspiegel reported on Wednesday that Buck and Aikman had an argument before Monday night’s Bills-Rams game at SoFi Stadium but were able to move on from it and call the game as if nothing happened.

Per Glasspiegel:

“On Monday night, before the Rams took on the Bills at SoFi Stadium, the site of this season’s Super Bowl, Buck “broke the ice” on this unspoken tension, and he and Aikman had an argument, a source said. It ultimately de-escalated, and the two had a broadcast in which viewers never would have been able to decipher that something was amiss.”

On Thursday, Aikman spoke about that report and pretty much confirmed it happened. He also made it pretty clear that he’ll be looking to move on from ESPN after this season.

“There’s probably a time and a place for all that,” during a radio interview with KTCK The Ticket in Dallas. “I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what’s happened. 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. But I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot might be.”

You can listen to that part of the interview right here:

Where Troy Aikman should work next year

Aikman is arguably the best analyst in the game right now, though Tom Brady is getting close. His next move seems like an obvious one: go to CBS and join Jim Nantz.

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CBS’ lead NFL booth got turned upside down right before the 2026 NFL season started when Tony Romo was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle while intoxicated. J.J. Watt slid into Romo’s spot first as a temporary replacement for the former Cowboys QB, and then earlier this month his position became more solidified when Romo and CBS announced they were parting ways. Watt has done a great job in his new role and has quickly proven himself to be a top-notch game analyst, but he’s not as good as Aikman.

CBS would be smart to throw some big bucks at Aikman, especially since the network has the Super Bowl next year. Aikman has proven over the last 20-plus years that he is the best in the business and adding him would instantly give CBS the best booth in football.

What ESPN should do if Troy Aikman doesn’t come back

This would be another easy move for a TV executive to make: ESPN should sign Greg Olsen to a big deal to team him with up with Buck for years to come.

Olsen, who is in the final year of his deal with Fox Sports, has been a rising star since becoming an analyst in 2021. The former Pro Bowl tight end was working in Fox’s No. 1 booth with Kevin Burkhardt until Brady came along and was on the call for Super Bowl LVII where he did a great job of calling out the refs on a controversial play that gave the Chiefs a win over the Eagles. Olsen and Buck would be a great fit together and it seems like a no-brainer for ESPN to make that move.

It’s going to be interesting to see how this announcer drama plays out in the weeks and months to come. ESPN has the Super Bowl this year, so Buck and Aikman will continue to be under the biggest of spotlights up until the final game of the season, which could also be their final game together in the booth.