Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s reported argument in the Monday Night Football booth followed a contract decision Aikman reportedly hadn’t been told about: Buck had agreed to stay at ESPN after learning the network might replace his longtime partner.
Before the Oct. 12 Bills-Rams game at SoFi Stadium, Buck confronted Aikman over what Puck’s Dylan Byers described as increasingly cold behavior. “Dude, are we really going to do this?” Buck reportedly asked.
A source described Aikman’s position as: “You f-ked me over.” The argument reportedly subsided before it affected the telecast.
Buck signed a 6-year extension in May worth about $108 million. During those talks, ESPN told him it might move on from Aikman in 2027 and discussed Greg Olsen and Kirk Herbstreit as possible partners. A source said Aikman hadn’t been told about the deal: “ESPN didn’t tell him, Joe didn’t tell him. Even CAA didn’t tell him.”
Fox paired Buck and Aikman in 2002, after they’d met just once. Aikman said in 2022 that Buck “truly is one of my best friends.” On Sept. 29, Buck said, “I legitimately love the guy like a brother.”
In October, Buck described their partnership this way: “We’ve lived 25 years of our lives as partners in the broadcast booth. And there’s no way that you can treat that any way other than a marriage.”
On Oct. 15, Aikman said, “I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens.” Before the next Monday game, Buck apologized to the crew and said, “We’re all adults, we’ve all got jobs to do, let’s move forward.” Aikman said nothing.
Their existing contracts run through the Super Bowl on Feb. 14, 2027, which they’re scheduled to call together at SoFi Stadium.