Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reportedly had some tension inside ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” booth before Monday night’s Rams-Bills matchup at SoFi Stadium, with Front Office Sports saying the longtime broadcast partners argued over their contract situations.
The friction, according to the report by Ryan Glasspiegel, centers on where the two stand with ESPN. Buck has already agreed to a new deal with the network, while Aikman has not received a formal offer.
A source told Front Office Sports that Buck “broke the ice” on the topic before the broadcast, and what started as a conversation turned into an argument. The issue cooled down before kickoff, and the pair then called the game without any visible sign of trouble, the report said.
An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment. Neither Buck nor Aikman had publicly responded to the report as of Thursday morning.
The contract divide is notable because Buck has already locked in his future with the network. The Athletic reported last month that he agreed to a six-year extension that will keep him as ESPN’s lead play-by-play voice through the network’s next scheduled Super Bowl in 2031. That deal was reported to be worth more than $100 million.
Aikman is in the final season of the five-year deal he signed with ESPN in 2022. Front Office Sports reported that talks involving Aikman could stretch beyond the end of the season.
Buck and Aikman both arrived at ESPN from Fox in the 2022 offseason. Aikman got his agreement done first, and Buck followed several weeks later after Fox released him from the final year of his contract. Front Office Sports said both men are represented by CAA, though they have different agents.
Their partnership goes back even further than ESPN. Buck and Aikman have worked together since 2002, when Aikman joined Buck in Fox’s top booth. Aikman, who won three Super Bowls as quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys, entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
The duo is still set to handle Super Bowl LXI in February at SoFi Stadium, which would be the first Super Bowl broadcast in ESPN history and the first on ABC since 2006.
Aikman has also been in the spotlight for reasons beyond the contract report. Earlier this month, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley pushed back on Aikman’s criticism of his defense, saying the comments were not true.
Front Office Sports also noted that it is unclear what either side would do if Aikman and ESPN split after the Super Bowl, and that CBS could have an opening in its top booth after parting ways with Tony Romo.
For now, Buck and Aikman remain ESPN’s Monday night team through the rest of the regular season and into the playoffs.
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