Troy Aikman had a chance Thursday to shoot down a report that he and broadcast partner Joe Buck are feuding over contract terms at ESPN. He didn’t take it.
Asked directly on Sportsradio 96.7 in Dallas whether tension between the two men was real ahead of Monday night’s Buffalo Bills–Los Angeles Rams broadcast, Aikman neither confirmed nor denied the report, instead suggesting the subject wasn’t ready for public discussion.
“There’s probably a time and a place for all that to be discussed,” Aikman said. “I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what’s happened.”
The pair have called Monday Night Football together for more than two decades and are set to broadcast Super Bowl LXI on Feb. 14, the first Super Bowl ever aired on ESPN. But their long-term future together is now in question.
Front Office Sports reported that Buck recently signed a new deal to remain with Disney/ABC/ESPN as the network’s Monday Night Football play-by-play voice, while Aikman has no contract in place beyond this season. The outlet reported Buck had tried to “break the ice” over the unequal situation, which led to an argument between the two men before Monday’s broadcast. Whatever friction existed appeared to cool enough for the pair to call the game as scheduled.
Aikman confirmed his own contract status is unsettled.
“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,” Aikman said. “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 might be.”
ESPN declined to comment on the report, and neither Buck nor the network has addressed what specifically triggered the dispute.
A Second Former Cowboys Quarterback in Turmoil
Aikman’s contract uncertainty comes as another former Dallas Cowboys quarterback turned broadcaster, Tony Romo, has been pulled from the air entirely. CBS Sports placed Romo on leave after he was arrested in Wisconsin and pleaded no contest to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Romo has said in public statements that he is seeking help for what he described as his use of alcohol and painkillers.
With Romo sidelined and Aikman’s future with ESPN unresolved, the broadcast analyst market could see two former Cowboys quarterbacks available next year.
