ESPN’s decision to extend Joe Buck but not Troy Aikman has caused tension between the longtime partners and friends, just months before their first Super Bowl for the company, according to a report Wednesday.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported Wednesday that there has been “unspoken tension” between Buck and Aikman over their respective contracts, culminating in what he termed “an argument” prior to this past Monday’s Bills-Rams game. ESPN declined comment when asked about the Front Office Sports report.
Buck, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reported last month, reached a six-year contract extension with ESPN. Shortly after that report, Aikman told Richard Deitsch in a podcast interview that he had expected a new contract prior to the start of the season, and that when or if he would reach a new deal is “anyone’s guess.”
It is of course impossible to know the extent to which there is true conflict between the longest-tenured partners in the history of the NFL on television. One has to imagine that over the course of their 25-year friendship, there has been occasional tension, and the occasional argument, as would be the case in any long-term partnership of any kind. TNT Sports’ Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith had a tense interaction with Charles Barkley as he spoke to a New York Times reporter in 2024, and it has had no apparent impact on their ability to work together since.
Outside of truly rare occasions — like the Mario Impemba and Rod Allen fight that cost both their jobs with Fox Sports Detroit — occasional conflict is to be expected.
Nevertheless, even the faintest possibility of a rift comes at a profoundly inopportune time for ESPN/ABC, which is airing the Super Bowl for the first time since 2006.
It also begs the question of why ESPN would choose to enter its Super Bowl season with any uncertainty regarding its NFL broadcast booth. The decision to re-sign Buck and not Aikman was inevitably going to attract attention, as Aikman has a recent history of being frank about his contractual situation. Ahead of the expiration of his Fox contract in 2022, Aikman spoke openly and on-the-record to multiple publications about his future. Even just a cursory knowledge of that history would have made it clear that failing to reach a renewal — or even begin discussions on one — would be a recipe for speculation, especially if Buck had a new deal.
Unlike in 2022, when Buck followed Aikman from Fox to ESPN, any potential departure by Aikman would almost certainly mean a breakup of their partnership. Back in 2022, Buck only had to get out of the final year of his contract to join Aikman. This time, he would have to exit a deal with six years remaining.
