For a quarter century, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have been the gold standard of NFL broadcasting. But we know that a concerning rift has developed between the two, following Buck getting his contract extended with ESPN. Ryan Clark pointed a finger at ESPN for putting Aikman in the position he is currently in, based on his own experience with the network.

“When I look at Troy Aikman and Joe Buck, I believe they’re the best booth in football,” Clark said of the rift between Aikman and Buck, on The Pivot Podcast. “And for 25 years they’ve proved that. The reason ESPN gets better games now and the reason they have a Super Bowl is because of those two individuals. Part of their draw, outside of their skill, was that it felt like brothers. It felt like family. Somebody is trying to make Troy Aikman look like the bastard son.

“You mentioned the leaks. I’ve been around there. I know how it starts to happen when they’re trying to build a narrative about you. … I do feel like there is a push to make him be the bad guy, whether he is or not. … This is not about, in my opinion, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. This is about the business, and it’s about business being done dirty. I want to see them continue.”

The tension between Aikman and Buck presumably developed after ESPN signed Buck to a $108 million contract extension. Aikman had also been negotiating for an extension. But according to Puck, ESPN allegedly finalized Buck’s contract some months before it was reported by The Athletic. Aikman reportedly had no knowledge of this, and considered the move a betrayal, per a later story by The Athletic.

But the network has remained silent about Aikman’s contract extension. It’s his last season on his five-year, $90 million contract. 

“I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened,” Aikman said on 96.7 The Ticket. “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. I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that, and where my next landing spot may be.” 

Then there is also the fight the two had at the SoFi Stadium before the Rams-Bills game. According to The Athletic, Buck told Aikman, “I’m not the reason you don’t have a contract.”

This is a thought the veteran announcer has alluded to previously as well, and the two were negotiating their contracts separately. Buck did say he hoped ESPN retained him, but he hasn’t said much about the current status of their relationship.

Some in NFL media have said that they want to see Troy Aikman and Joe Buck together. Bill Simmons, on The Ringer’s Bill Simmons Podcast, claimed that he wants Buck and Aikman to stay together and that they shouldn’t be broken up. ESPN’s own Stephen A. Smith also called for the two continue sharing the booth together.

Clark, having been fired by ESPN earlier this year in a rather dramatic manner, has been vocal about his experience with the network. He recently said that during the last time he negotiated his contract, ESPN had asked him to drop his work with The Pivot Podcast and Inside The NFL, which is run by NFL Films.

But Clark was let go in July this year, while on set for NFL Live. Per Awful Announcing, ESPN planned to inform him of his dismissal the next day. No wonder he believes there is something fishy going on with the Troy Aikman situation.

After 25 legendary seasons together, football’s premier booth deserves a dignified curtain call. And Clark, along with many others, stood in support of that.