Tension is reportedly growing between ESPN’s Monday Night Football broadcast team of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.
Last month, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported that Buck signed a six-year extension worth approximately $108 million. Buck and Aikman, the longest-running broadcast pairing in NFL history, left Fox Sports in 2022 and moved over to ESPN together.
While Buck has secured a long-term deal, the Dallas Cowboys legend is in the last season of a five-year contract. Aikman hasn’t signed a new deal, however, and friction is reportedly growing with his longtime broadcast partner.
According to Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports, “there has been tension between the 25-year booth partners over their respective contract talks.”
Glasspiegel reports that the two had an argument before calling the Buffalo Bills’ thrilling overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams on Monday night.
“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,” Glasspiegel reported. “It ultimately de-escalated, and the two had a broadcast in which viewers never would have been able to decipher that something was amiss.”
If Aikman leaves ESPN after the 2026 season, this would be the second marquee NFL broadcast pair to split. Tony Romo and CBS parted ways less than three months after his DUI arrest. Romo and Jim Nantz were CBS’ No. 1 NFL commentary team from 2017 to 2025.
Troy Aikman and Joe Buck Will Call Super Bowl 61 Together
(Photo by Arturo Holmes/WireImage)
Aikman and Buck have called six Super Bowls together, most recently Super Bowl 54 between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers (a 31-20 Kansas City victory).
The two will call Super Bowl 61 on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium, the home of the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers.
Related: Troy Aikman Says ESPN Future Is ‘Anyone’s Guess’ After Joe Buck’s $108 Million Deal
