Terry Bradshaw weighs in on Joe Buck-Troy Aikman rift
· Yahoo Sports
The 2026 NFL season was supposed to be one of triumph for ESPN, with the network set to broadcast its first Super Bowl, joining the rotation of CBS, NBC, and Fox that split the rights to the game.
Instead, the major story following ESPN’s NFL coverage this year comes from the drama in the broadcast booth. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman have been an announcing team for two decades dating back to their time together as the top team at Fox. The two moved from Fox to ESPN to take over Monday Night Football five years ago, and immediately offered the Worldwide Leader the stability it had been in search of for some time.
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Heading into the season, Buck and Aikman were on the final year of their deals with ESPN. In September, it was announced that Buck had signed a six-year extension worth north of $100 million to stay with ESPN for some time, but contract talks with Aikman never materialized. Since then, the tension between the two has boiled over a couple times behind the scenes, and it looks like Aikman will almost certainly be looking for a new job next year, while ESPN finds a new analyst to pair alongside Buck.
Terry Bradshaw spent years working with both Buck and Aikman during their time together at Fox. Speaking with Brian Kilmeade of Fox & Friends while promoting his new book, Bradshaw broke down his understanding of the situation at ESPN.
“I talked to Buck via text and told him I don’t assume everything I’m reading is correct,” Bradshaw said. “I know Troy Aikman well. They’re both real good friends of mine. I don’t understand. Because Troy has a big contract now, and Joe got a big contract. I don’t want to believe that it’s the money that Buck got that’s got Troy upset, because Troy’s making big money.
“I have heard that they were going to go into ESPN together, and get a new deal together. Joe evidently got his before Troy, and that seems to be the rift. It’s about money. I find that hard to believe because Troy Aikman is not like that. He’s not like that. My understanding right now is things are okay.”
Terry Bradshaw on the Joe Buck – Troy Aikman feud https://t.co/70ByQ4evBg
— Brian Kilmeade (@kilmeade) November 4, 2026
Bradshaw’s note that he had heard the duo planned to extend their deals together is interesting, as clearly that is not what happened. That said, both Buck and Aikman are represented by CAA, so it’s not like either side could have been too shocked by the sequence of events as they played out.
As for the current status of the Buck-Aikman relationship, they are holding things together on the air as professionals for the time being. While insiders have floated that there is a small chance that Aikman leaves the network before its big Super Bowl broadcast, it feels more likely that the big game will serve as a swan song for the longest tenured team in national football broadcasting.
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