Although a Super Bowl-winning quarterback, when Troy Aikman joined FOX’s NFL coverage, he was entering a profession in which someone else already had the upper hand. Joe Buck and he began working together in 2002, and Aikman later admitted to an “intimidation factor” around Buck, who had “skins on the wall.” Broadcasting, Aikman thought, might be a job he stuck with for a couple of seasons before moving on.

Those couple of seasons turned into a partnership that has lasted nearly a quarter-century. After Cris Collinsworth left their original three-man booth in 2005, Buck and Aikman became a duo, eventually calling six Super Bowls together. They moved from FOX to ESPN in 2022, and their seventh Super Bowl is scheduled for February 14, 2027. But the next Super Bowl could also be one of their last assignments together.

While Buck has already secured a reported six-year extension, Aikman says ESPN has not opened contract negotiations with him, even though his five-year deal reportedly expires in March 2027. He now suspects the lack of talks means ESPN is preparing to move in a different direction. It was a loose answer, so Jimmy Traina followed up and asked him to explain, and that’s where the real reasoning came out.

“Here’s what Aikman said to me about ESPN: “It just seems to be where they’re going – that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations. We’re in a Super Bowl year. The Super Bowl is Feb. 14. My contract ends in March. It just doesn’t seem logical that if they were gonna keep me, something wouldn’t be in place before that,” Traina posted on Substack.

Aikman has been through a similar breakdown in communication before. He left FOX in 2022 after 21 years, saying the network had not made him an offer to stay. ESPN subsequently brought him and Buck over together on reported five-year deals worth $90 million for Aikman and $75 million for Buck. The move gave ESPN an established pairing for Monday Night Football, rather than two broadcasters who needed time to develop an on-air rhythm.

The partnership has delivered strong audiences. Their Week 1 telecast this season reportedly drew 23.2 million viewers, ESPN’s biggest Week 1 audience for Monday Night Football since it acquired the package in 2006. The upcoming Super Bowl is another major assignment for the duo, and Aikman has made clear that he intends to fulfil his commitments through the end of the season.

“The rest of the season will be fine. Excited about it. Looking forward to it. It’s awesome that we got the Super Bowl. Not a problem at all,” Aikman told Traina, dismissing the suggestion that the uncertainty over his future would affect his work.

The contract situation has reportedly spilled into the booth, though. According to Front Office Sports, Buck raised the subject of Aikman’s expiring deal before the Bills-Rams game at SoFi Stadium on October 12. The conversation reportedly escalated into an argument before de-escalating. ESPN declined to comment on the report.

The broadcast itself gave viewers little indication of the exchange. The game lasted more than three hours, went to overtime and featured 35 fourth-quarter points, yet the reported disagreement did not become an on-air issue. The episode is significant because the contract uncertainty now affects not only Aikman’s relationship with ESPN but also a partnership with Buck that has lasted 25 years.

Aikman was asked about the reported argument during his October 15 appearance on 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas. He did not offer a detailed account of what happened, saying instead:

“There’s probably a time and a place for all that. I don’t know if now is the time. I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened.”

He then returned to his immediate plans, saying he would finish the season and become a free agent. His comments left the door open to another broadcasting role without confirming that he had decided to leave ESPN or that the network had formally ruled out a new deal. The Los Angeles Times reported on his remarks and the uncertainty surrounding his future.

There is also a distinction between ESPN’s lack of negotiations so far and a final decision not to retain Aikman. The New York Post, citing earlier reporting by The Athletic, noted that ESPN planned to revisit contract discussions after the Super Bowl. That would explain why the network might not have moved on a new deal yet, although it does not resolve why Buck secured an extension while Aikman remains without one. For now, the network’s intentions remain unclear, and Aikman’s own interpretation is that the silence points towards a departure.

If Aikman does reach the open market, CBS could be one possible destination. The network has JJ Watt working alongside Jim Nantz as its lead NFL analyst, while FOX’s Greg Olsen is also approaching a contract decision. Sports Business Journal has identified CBS as a potential landing spot for Aikman, but no move has been confirmed.

For now, Aikman and Buck remain scheduled to call ESPN’s first Super Bowl together. Whether that broadcast marks the end of their partnership at the network depends on what happens after the season—and whether ESPN and Aikman eventually begin the negotiations that have so far failed to materialise.