Pregame video from Monday night's Rams-Bills broadcast shows longtime ESPN booth partners Joe Buck and Troy Aikman standing apart and not speaking to each other on the field before kickoff at SoFi Stadium. The footage surfaced after reports of an argument between the two broadcasters in the booth, tied to a lopsided contract situation: Buck recently landed a new six-year, roughly $108 million extension, while Aikman, whose deal runs out at the end of the season, says he has not received a formal offer.
Cameras Catch an Uncomfortable Pregame Scene
The tension was first reported by Front Office Sports, which described friction between the two men, including, in the outlet's words, “an argument that took place in the booth ahead of this week’s broadcast.” According to that report, it was Buck who raised the subject — broaching, as the site put it, the unspoken tension between “one has a new contract while the other, Aikman, has not received a formal offer” — and the two had words before settling in to call the game. A separate clip shared by the account Flea Flicker Football showed Buck and Aikman standing near the Monday Night Football countdown set for roughly an hour before heading to the booth without speaking to one another; another video from the same account showed Aikman walking to the booth without Buck, and a third showed Buck instead chatting with Michelle Beisner-Buck, his wife and an ESPN reporter.
Despite the visible chill beforehand, Front Office Sports reported that the disagreement did not bleed into the broadcast itself, noting that “viewers never would have been able to decipher that something was amiss” once the game started. Separate pregame footage reviewed by TotalProSports showed Aikman looking uncomfortable on set in the lead-up to the Monday night game, which the New York Post's Bridget Reilly also covered in a piece for the New York Post. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment when Front Office Sports sought a response.
A Lopsided Contract Picture
Buck, 57, agreed to his new six-year ESPN extension in September, with the deal reportedly worth around $108 million, according to The Athletic. Reports differ on exactly how long the extension keeps Buck on Monday Night Football — Sports Business Journal described it as running through 2031, while Brobible reported it runs through 2031 at $18 million per year, up from his previous $15 million — but both accounts agree it secures his seat for years to come. Aikman, 59, is working under a five-year, $90 million contract that ends after the Super Bowl, and the same Athletic report notes he has yet to land a new one.
Aikman addressed the uncertainty himself on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast in September, telling the host he had expected his situation to be resolved before the season began. “When it might get done, if it gets done, is anyone’s guess,” he said, according to Sports Media Watch. He also said he had never before entered the final year of a contract since signing with the Dallas Cowboys, and that he wasn't putting much energy into worrying about the timeline. Asked about his longtime broadcast partner, Aikman was unambiguous: “Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100%.”
Twenty-Five Seasons Together, Now an Uneven Footing
Buck and Aikman have called games together for 25 seasons, a run The Athletic describes as the longest-running television booth pairing in NFL history. ESPN signed both men away from Fox during the 2022 offseason on five-year deals worth a combined $165 million, with Fox agreeing to release Buck from the final year of his contract so he could join. Notably, it was Aikman who reached his ESPN deal first back then, with Buck signing weeks later — a reversal of the dynamic playing out now, since this time Buck secured his extension while Aikman waits.
Awful Announcing reported that ESPN plans to hold off on further Aikman negotiations until after the Super Bowl, per the site's sourcing. Front Office Sports has mentioned Greg Olsen as a potential option should Aikman ultimately depart. Buck and Aikman, in the meantime, are set to call the Commanders-49ers matchup in Week 6 in Santa Clara, California.
Where Could Aikman Land If He Leaves?
Speculation about Aikman's future has extended beyond ESPN. Front Office Sports noted that CBS's top announcing booth could potentially open up if Aikman left ESPN, though J.J. Watt currently occupies that role alongside Jim Nantz for the rest of the season after the network parted ways with Tony Romo, according to Awful Announcing.
The broader broadcast market underscores just how much money is now in play around NFL booths. Monday Night Football averaged 15.8 million viewers per game last season, according to the Los Angeles Times, and ESPN is spending accordingly elsewhere on-air: Stephen A. Smith earns $21 million a year from the network, while Pat McAfee is reportedly in talks that could pay him as much as $65 million annually, per The Athletic. Fox, for its part, signed Tom Brady to a 10-year, $375 million deal after promoting Kevin Burkhardt to its top broadcast team — a reminder of just how dramatically NFL booth economics have shifted since Buck and Aikman first signed with ESPN in 2022.
For now, Buck remains locked in as ESPN's lead Monday Night Football voice, while Aikman's future stays unresolved. Off the broadcast, Buck has kept busy guest-hosting Good Morning America on ABC, hosting ESPN's version of Jeopardy, and serving as a guest judge on a Super Bowl-themed episode of Dancing with the Stars — a sign, at least, that ESPN is leaning into his visibility even as his longtime partner waits on a decision that reportedly won't come until after the season ends.
