Aikman to Work With Buck Through 2026, Future Unsettled

Troy Aikman is set to work alongside Joe Buck through the 2026 NFL season, but the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback says he will become a free agent afterward as his future with ESPN remains unsettled. The reported contract standoff has also prompted claims of tension between the longtime broadcast partners, though neither a departure nor a new deal has been confirmed. ESPN has extended Buck through 2031 in a reported six-year contract worth $108 million. Aikman, whose five-year agreement with the network began in 2022, has no reported extension. He said in a Dallas radio interview that he would continue broadcasting through the season, then consider his next move. He also said he was looking forward to the season’s remaining games and the Super Bowl assignment. A report that Buck and Aikman argued before the Bills-Rams Monday Night Football broadcast in October has circulated amid their differing contract situations. The claim traces to one reporting origin and has not been independently confirmed in the accounts describing it. ESPN and Aikman have not publicly confirmed negotiations or explained why no extension has been reached. NFL executive vice president and chief media...