Tension has been reportedly brewing between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman amid contract negotiations with ESPN.
The tensions reportedly sparked after Buck reached a new six-year deal with ESPN last month to keep him in the Monday Night Football booth while his 25-year booth partner, Troy Aikman, did not receive an offer. Per Front Office Sports:
During the 2022 offseason, ESPN signed Buck and Aikman away from Fox to five-year deals. ESPN had several years of wayward booths after Mike Tirico left for NBC in 2016, and with this move, it landed arguably the top broadcast team not just in the NFL, but in all of sports. In the previous round of negotiations, Aikman was the first to reach a deal with ESPN, and then Buck joined weeks later after Fox agreed to let him out of the last year of his contract.
A source told the outler that Aikman and Buck recently appeared on Monday Night Football after the two got into an argument over the dispute. The feud reportedly de-escalated and the two were able to professionally hold the broadcast without showing outward signs of tension.
“ESPN is playing a dangerous game of chicken by letting Aikman’s contract talks linger until after the season, as it risks signaling to him that the network is ambivalent about his return,” added Front Office Sports. “Aikman, 59, was a three-time Super Bowl champion quarterback with the Cowboys and remains as prepared and incisive as any working analyst in sports. What if Aikman leaves and Buck does not have the same excellent chemistry with his replacement?”