Troy Aikman Had a Very Ugly Spat With Joe Buck Off-Air on ‘MNF.’ Here’s What Was Reportedly Said.

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck reportedly had a verbal altercation before the Bills-Rams game on ESPN’s ‘Monday Night Football.’ | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Four months before the Super Bowl, ESPN might have a rather inconvenient problem on its hands. For weeks now, Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have continued to make the headlines for their private feud over Buck getting a contract extension with the network while Aikman was reportedly iced out.

Some details of that feud went public in a report by The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand which revealed the long-simmering strained tensions between the two analysts, and shed light on one particularly ugly argument they reportedly had in the booth.

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Ever since news broke out in September that Buck had secured a long-term deal with ESPN, all eyes focused on Buck and Aikman’s booth dynamic during Monday Night Football broadcasts to see if there was any visible evidence of hostility or awkwardness. Most of the broadcasts ran pretty smoothly, though some self-appointed body language experts did sense a tinge of on-camera friction between the longtime pair.

Marchand confirms there was an “unease” between Aikman and Buck through the first five weeks of the NFL season and shared a brief spat the two had before the Bills-Rams game on Oct. 12.

While they were off-air at SoFi Stadium, Buck apparently broke the ice by asking Aikman, “You are not going to f—ing talk to me?” Later in the conversation, Buck bluntly told him, “I’m not the reason you don’t have a contract.”

Sources told The Athletic that Aikman had harbored feelings of ill will toward Buck—not about their contract dispute, but about Buck being responsible for the broadcast’s producer and director turnover during their MNF tenure. (The two went through five producers and directors before settling on Steve Ackles and Artie Kempner.)

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Aikman reportedly told Buck, “I just never thought you’d do it to me,” which presumably referenced his feelings of betrayal over Buck privately closing his deal with ESPN in the offseason. Neither Buck nor ESPN told Aikman about the extension at the time, per Marchand. It’s worth noting that both announcers are represented by Creative Artists Agency, but by different agents, and the fact that Buck negotiated his deal separately isn’t all that uncommon.

Buck then allegedly referred to the broadcast’s history of producer-director changeover and said to Aikman, “They got rid of them because you were screaming at them.”

Troy Aikman and Joe Buck began calling games together in 2002 at Fox, leaving for ESPN to take over ‘Monday Night Football’ in 2022. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Troy Aikman, Joe Buck come to verbal blows in new report about simmering ESPN feud

So, it would appear there is some tension between Aikman and Buck after all—NFL fans watching at home just aren’t privy to it in the moment.

One could argue the two are actually doing a great job of hiding whatever animosity they may feel for another to continue to put on a relatively smooth-sailing MNF show, all things considered. But as Aikman and Buck’s simmering feud drags on, the publicity of it all might do more damage to ESPN’s hyped-up production of the Super Bowl in February.

Based on Marchand’s reporting, the feud went deeper than just a behind-the-scenes contract squabble. During their off-air argument, Aikman allegedly felt that Buck “wanted to force a public backlash to appear as the good guy.”

Buck, for his part, appeared to believe that Aikman’s harsh behavior led to the broadcast cycling through many different producers and directors, and he refused to feel guilty for inking his own lucrative deal. Back when Aikman left Fox for ESPN in 2022, Aikman reportedly switched networks without knowing whether Buck—who had a year remaining on his Fox deal—would follow him.

As ESPN gears up for its first-ever production of the big game on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium, the cold war between Aikman and Buck rages on.

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What the future holds for Troy Aikman and ESPN

While there’s still time for Aikman and ESPN to hammer out a new deal, all signs are instead pointing to a bitter divorce. The Worldwide Leader in Sports likely doesn’t want to invest in a relationship that has turned sour, per Marchand, and network executives also believe there is depth in the game-analyst market. And there is: Fox’s No. 2 game analyst, Greg Olsen is tabbed as the consensus favorite to replace Aikman, should the two sides part ways in February.

As for Aikman, he candidly admitted earlier this week that there was a “50-50” chance he’ll do TV next year. After his decades-long tenure in broadcasting, the former Cowboys quarterback is keeping all options on the table, including a possible reunion with Jerry Jones in the near future. Aikman was seen having a long conversation with the Dallas owner before last Monday’s Cowboys-Eagles game and previously voiced his openness to getting lunch with Jones.

Aikman later said that he didn’t want to back Jones into a corner with his public comments about potentially working for the Cowboys. Jones didn’t seem to mind and wouldn’t “rule out” a Dallas homecoming for the three-time Super Bowl champ.

“I don't know of anyone that's played, or any part of football, that has had any more success off the field than Troy,” Jones said. “He is a successful guy because he is one of the hardest working, most focused people that I've ever been around. ... I think the world of him. I've seen his image and and had it in my eyes since I walked in the NFL. He's outstanding. The answer is not that necessarily we're going to do something more direct with the team at this time, but don't rule it out, it's very possible.”

Aikman worked as a consultant for the Dolphins last offseason during the organization’s GM and head coach hiring hunt, and it seems quite plausible for him to land a similar role—whether on the Cowboys or another NFL franchise—next year, if he decides to walk away from broadcasting for good.

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