“Monday Night Football” analyst Troy Aikman left no room for interpretation during a radio appearance Thursday about his status after the season: He’ll be a free agent, and by the sound of it, the NFL’s longest-running pairing is in jeopardy.
Aikman went on The Ticket (WTCK) in Dallas and was asked about a report by Front Office Sports that said he and “MNF” partner Joe Buck argued before the broadcast Monday after tensions had grown regarding their contracts with ESPN. Buck agreed to a six-year deal last month, according to The Athletic, but Aikman hasn’t received an offer, FOS reported.
“I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what has happened,” Aikman said. “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. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this year does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”
Buck and Aikman have worked together for 25 years, passing Pat Summerall and John Madden as the longest-tenured pair in 2023, their second season at ESPN. At the end of this season, the network will broadcast its first Super Bowl, into which it’s putting seemingly every resource imaginable to promote. A Buck-Aikman rift figures to cast a pall over the run-up.
In 2 ½ decades together, it’s hard to believe Buck and Aikman never had a spat of some kind. But to hear that this one might play a part in sending Aikman, a Hall of Fame quarterback with the Cowboys, to another network is surprising. He could be angling to bring ESPN to the negotiating table. For whatever reason, the network hasn’t placated him. It might need to do something to address the matter and not let it simmer for four months.
According to FOS, Buck addressed the tension between him and Aikman in the booth before the Bills-Rams game, leading to an argument. The situation diffused, and viewers were never the wiser.
If Aikman were to leave ESPN, it could spark changes at other networks. Sports Business Journal reported that Fox hasn’t had contract talks with No. 2 analyst Greg Olsen. At CBS, J.J. Watt’s spot on the No. 1 team with Jim Nantz — which opened when the network dumped Tony Romo after his drunk-driving arrest — is not permanent. Aikman seemingly would have options.
Aikman also is dabbling in consulting for the Dolphins, opening the possibility that he’d consider joining an NFL front office. However, it’s unlikely that a team would match the $18 million he’s making per year. Buck’s current contract pays him $15 million per year, according to The Athletic, which reported his new deal is worth more than $100 million.