Joe Buck got his contract extension at ESPN. Troy Aikman, though, has yet to land one.
While Buck and ESPN agreed to a longterm, $108 million contract extension, Aikman is still waiting to secure his future at the network. Aikman is in the final year of a 5 year, $90 million contract with the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
“I thought something would be done prior to the start of this season,’ Aikman said on the “Sports Media with Richard Deitsch” podcast. “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 opened up about the situation this week.
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Buck spoke with Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic earlier this week. He made it clear to ESPN that he wants Aikman to stick around longterm.
“I’m pretty well on record, having begged out of my last years at Fox to follow him to ESPN, where I stand on all that,” Buck said, confirming he hopes Aikman reaches a deal with ESPN. “I legitimately love the guy like a brother. We’re basically the same age; I’m 57, he’s 59. We’ve both been through divorce. We’re both girl dads. 25 years, you’re sharing a lot of life together. Forget games and in the booth and all that stuff.
“So, I hope so. I mean, both of us were up. It wasn’t like we were doing some national signing day where we walk in arm-in-arm and then sign contracts at the same time. We’ve always kind of kept that stuff separate. I’m obviously hopeful, to say the least, that something gets done. But that’s kind of his world, and ESPN’s world, and I’ve got to kind of mind my own yard in that stuff. I think that’s the best way to be.”
It remains possible that ESPN could let Aikman walk, if he gets a huge offer from someone else, and it would be very interesting to see who the network would choose to replace him with, considering how long Buck has worked with the former Dallas Cowboys star.
