The 25-year partnership between Joe Buck and Troy Aikman is shifting towards a conclusion, and extra particulars have emerged relating to final week's tipping level at SoFi Stadium.
Dylan Byers of Puckr to the prior report of pressure between the Monday Night time Soccer broadcaster crew.
“There had been weeks of Troy changing into more and more chilly, troublesome, brief, making feedback,” a supply with direct data of the scenario advised Byers. “Joe lastly snapped,” the supply advised Byers, in reference to the Week 5 incident on the Payments-Rams recreation. “He mainly mentioned, 'Dude, are we actually going to do that?' And Troy’s place was: You fucked me over!”
Mentioned one other unnamed supply to Byers, “They exchanged some very direct and sincere emotions."
Byers, who says he spoke to greater than a dozen sources, writes that Aikman "felt like quite a bit of individuals had fucked him over."
It got here right down to Buck chopping a deal on his extension, with the understanding that he might have a brand new associate in 2026. However Aikman additionally had been making an attempt to do his personal deal; per Byers, certainly one of Aikman's brokers pegged his worth at $30 million per yr — a large bounce over his present fee of $18 million.
Aikman "noticed it as the last word act of betrayal,” an unnamed supply advised Byers. “They minimize this deal in Could and put it in a drawer. ESPN didn’t inform him, Joe didn’t inform him.”
In the end, it's everybody for themselves. Aikman requested for an excessive amount of. Buck made a extra life like demand. If it had been the opposite manner round, Aikman would have his deal and Buck could be ready for a proposal that, at this level, might by no means come.
Byers stories that, on the latest Monday night time in Santa Clara, Buck apologized to Aikman and all the manufacturing crew for dropping his cool. Buck's message was, per Byers, "We’re all adults, we’ve all received jobs to do, let’s transfer ahead, let’s have an awesome yr.” Aikman reportedly added nothing after Buck mentioned what he needed to say.
The entire thing is odd, to say the least, if not unprecedented. At this level, it looks like Aikman can be leaving, seemingly for CBS or Prime Video. And Buck, armed along with his new contract, can be sticking round.
Via all of it, they'll be working collectively for the remainder of a season that culminates in ESPN's first Tremendous Bowl.
At a time when ESPN is making an attempt its greatest to relentlessly hype the February 14 occasion, the Aikman-Buck scenario turns into a possible distraction. Or possibly it provides just a little further sizzle, given the likelihood that their tenuous relationship may result in an on-air incident sooner or later between now and the ultimate recreation of the 2026 season.
