Aikman Says No ESPN Contract Talks After Buck Extension

Troy Aikman said he has had no conversations with anyone from ESPN about a new contract, even as the network locked up his longtime broadcast partner Joe Buck with a six-year extension reported to be worth more than $100 million. Aikman's current ESPN deal expires after the 2026 season, and the veteran Monday Night Football analyst said he expected the matter to be settled before the campaign began. Speaking on the Sports Media with Richard Deitsch podcast, released on Sunday, Aikman said he had had no conversations with anyone from Bristol about a new deal. "I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season," Aikman said. "I've never gone into a last year of a contract ever since I signed with the Dallas Cowboys. So I thought that it would be done. It's not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anybody's guess, and it's just not something that I'm really putting a lot of energy into." Buck's reported deal, described by some accounts as more than $100 million and by others as $108 million, gives the play-by-play announcer long-term security that Aikman does not yet have.