While Joe Buck’s future at the Worldwide Leader in Sports is set, his “Monday Night Football” broadcast partner’s is a bit uncertain.
Speaking with sports media reporter Richard Deitsch, Troy Aikman acknowledged that he “had no conversations with anyone from Bristol” regarding what Buck’s new megadeal means for the former Cowboys star and his future with the network.
Aikman’s contract is set to expire at ESPN after this season, which will mark the first time that the network will broadcast a Super Bowl, and the analyst indicated he was a bit surprised something hadn’t been worked out before the start of the 2026 campaign.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,’ Aikman said on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast that was released on Sunday. “I’ve never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. So I thought that it would be done. It’s not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anybody’s guess, and it’s just not something that I’m really putting a lot of energy into.”
Aikman’s pairing with Buck in the broadcast booth is one of the longest-running among NFL broadcasters, which started on Fox in 2002 and has continued on to ESPN since they both joined the network in 2022.
Buck’s contract with ESPN was set to expire after this season before he signed a massive six-year deal worth more than $100 million.
Aikman’s tenure working with Buck may not be the main factor in his decision for his broadcasting future, but he did say there was “no question” it would be a factor.
“How much of that is my decision, I guess is yet to be determined,” Aikman said. “Would I like to continue working with Joe Buck moving down the road? 100 percent.”
The pair will be on the call on Monday when the Giants face the Rams in Los Angeles on “Monday Night Football” during Week 2.
