Troy Aikman raises uncertainty over ESPN future, thought contract ‘would be done. It’s not’

Just days after his ESPN broadcast partner Joe Buck reportedly signed a six-year extension with the network to remain its lead NFL voice through its second Super Bowl telecast in 2031, Troy Aikman is making sure people know his future is still up in the air.

Buck and Aikman are by far the longest-tenured broadcast pairing currently calling NFL games, having been together for nearly a quarter-century, mostly at Fox. But in 2022, ESPN made a splash to bring the duo over and shore up what had been a lackluster Monday Night Football booth for many seasons. Both Buck and Aikman’s contracts were set to expire following the ongoing NFL season, until Buck agreed to his extension.

Now, the attention has shifted over to Aikman. Most would agree it is unthinkable to envision Aikman calling games with anyone other than Buck, perhaps to the point where an Aikman extension at ESPN would seem close to a sure thing, assuming the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback wanted to continue calling games in the first place. But in a recent interview with sports media reporter Richard Deitsch, Aikman expressed uncertainty about his ESPN future.

“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,” Aikman said regarding his contract, per Sports Media Watch. “I’ve never gone into the last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. And so I thought that it would be done. It’s not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anyone’s guess. And it’s really not something that I’m putting a lot of energy into.”

The timing of Aikman’s remarks are interesting. One read on the situation could be that Aikman is looking to increase his leverage by countering the conventional wisdom that he’ll return to work with Buck no matter what. He’d be far from the first high-profile sports media personality to negotiate through the press.

But it’d be unwise to view Aikman’s comments as purely a negotiation tactic. After all, four years ago when he departed Fox for ESPN, he left Fox on his own accord; Buck still had a year left on his Fox contract and there was no guarantee the network would release him to ESPN, although they eventually did. So Aikman has at least considered the possibility of working with someone other than Buck in the past.

There’s expected to be some level of movement in the lead NFL analyst ranks this upcoming offseason. Kirk Herbstreit’s contract with Prime Video is up, and it’s widely expected the Amazon-owned streamer will move on from him and Al Michaels. Additionally, the lead CBS booth is up in the air with Tony Romo’s return looking unlikely and J.J. Watt still looking to prove himself alongside Jim Nantz. That creates some credible opportunities for Aikman to leverage in a negotiation.

To be sure, Aikman is not exactly playing hardball. The ESPN analyst told Deitsch that Buck’s extension was “no question” a factor in his future career decision. “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%.”