Joe Buck ‘hopeful’ Troy Aikman stays at ESPN

After following Troy Aikman to ESPN, Joe Buck now hopes his longtime NFL broadcast partner follows him in staying at ESPN.

Earlier this month, Buck signed a six-year contract extension with ESPN worth more than $100 million to continue as the network’s voice of Monday Night Football. Aikman, however, remains unsigned, with his current contract set to expire after this NFL season. And while it’s hard to imagine Buck without Aikman, the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback recently revealed his talks with ESPN are on hold for now.

Buck joined Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week to preview the Eagles Monday Night Football matchup with the Chicago Bears. And during the interview, Buck addressed Aikman’s uncertain status with ESPN.

“I’m pretty well on record, having begged out of my last years at Fox to follow him to ESPN, where I stand on all that,” Buck said, confirming he hopes Aikman reaches a deal with ESPN. “I legitimately love the guy like a brother. We’re basically the same age; I’m 57, he’s 59. We’ve both been through divorce. We’re both girl dads. 25 years, you’re sharing a lot of life together. Forget games and in the booth and all that stuff.

“So, I hope so. I mean, both of us were up. It wasn’t like we were doing some national signing day where we walk in arm-in-arm and then sign contracts at the same time. We’ve always kind of kept that stuff separate. I’m obviously hopeful, to say the least, that something gets done. But that’s kind of his world, and ESPN’s world, and I’ve got to kind of mind my own yard in that stuff. I think that’s the best way to be.”

When revealing his contract talks were on hold while speaking with Richard Deitsch earlier this month, Aikman seemed disappointed that a deal wasn’t reached before the season. The disappointment could signal a possible disconnect between Aikman and ESPN. Now we wait to see whether that disconnect gets resolved and a new contract is reached, or whether it eventually leads to Buck needing a new NFL partner for the first time in a quarter-century.

Buck and Aikman have both expressed reasonable uncertainty about their future together in the Monday Night Football booth. But they want to keep working together, and ESPN knows it too. It’s hard to imagine ESPN signing Buck to an extension and then dumping his partner of 25 years.