Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reportedly had a tense moment in ESPN’s Monday Night Football booth before the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, with the disagreement tied to their contract situations.
Front Office Sports reported Wednesday that the issue came to a head before kickoff at SoFi Stadium. According to the report by Ryan Glasspiegel, Buck has already agreed to a new deal with ESPN, while Aikman has not received a formal offer.
A source told Front Office Sports that Buck "broke the ice" on the subject before the broadcast and that the conversation escalated into an argument. The tension reportedly faded before the game started, and the two went on to work the telecast without any visible signs of trouble.
ESPN declined to comment through a spokesperson, and neither Buck nor Aikman had addressed the report publicly by Thursday morning.
Buck’s new deal was first reported last month by The Athletic as a six-year extension that would keep him as ESPN’s lead play-by-play announcer through the network’s next scheduled Super Bowl in 2031. That contract was reported to be worth more than $100 million.
Aikman, 59, is playing out the final season of the five-year agreement he signed with ESPN in 2022. Front Office Sports reported that his talks with the network could run beyond the end of the season.
The two broadcasters joined ESPN from Fox in the 2022 offseason. Aikman landed his deal first, and Buck followed weeks later after Fox let him out of the final year of his contract. Front Office Sports reported that both are represented by CAA, though they have different agents.
Buck and Aikman have been paired together since 2002, when Aikman joined Buck in Fox’s top booth. Aikman won three Super Bowls as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback and entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006.
The duo is scheduled to call Super Bowl LXI in February at SoFi Stadium, which would mark the first Super Bowl broadcast in ESPN history and the first on ABC since 2006.
Aikman’s commentary has already drawn notice this season. Earlier this month, New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley pushed back on Aikman’s criticism of his defense, saying those remarks were not true.
Front Office Sports also noted that it remains unclear what happens if Aikman and ESPN cannot reach a deal after the Super Bowl, and that CBS could have a spot open in its lead booth after parting with Tony Romo.
For now, Buck and Aikman are still set to handle ESPN’s Monday night games for the rest of the regular season.
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