If It Ends, It's Going To End Badly

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are still locked in to call Super Bowl LXI for ESPN on Valentine’s Day, but things between them are clearly a little frosty right now.

During a Thursday interview with 96.7 The Ticket in Dallas, Aikman basically confirmed the reports that there’s been some real tension between the two over their contract situations. Buck just locked in a monster six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN. Aikman? He’s still waiting. His deal runs out after this season, and from what we’re hearing, ESPN hasn’t even put a formal offer on the table yet.

According to Front Office Sports, Aikman didn’t hold back much when he was asked about the reported argument the two had before Monday night’s Bills-Rams game. “There’s probably a time and a place for all that to be discussed. I don’t know if now is the time,” he said. Then he added the part that got everyone’s attention: “I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens. … and where my next landing spot may be.”

That’s about as close as Aikman gets to saying the quiet part out loud.

It’s wild how fast things changed. Coming into this season, these two looked set. They were getting ready to call ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl after doing six together at Fox. They were both in the final year of big contracts, represented by the same agency, and a lot of people had finally come around to calling them the best duo in the game. They’ve always had that easy chemistry — finishing each other’s sentences, knowing exactly where the other one’s going.