When Joe Buck signed a $100 million extension with ESPN, the natural assumption around the industry was that Troy Aikman would soon follow.
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Aikman → sign → industry
Buck and Aikman have worked together for 25 years, first at Fox and at ESPN since 2022.
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Buck → work → 2022
They are often regarded as the best broadcast booth in sports.
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They → regard → sports
Yet, within hours of the report about Buck's deal, industry chatter suggested that ESPN and Aikman were not close to an agreement.
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ESPN → suggest → agreement
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page → contain → partners
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News → sign → wager
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that → create → newsroom
This week, Aikman addressed the situation — along with a reported confrontation between him and Buck during Monday Night Football — and said ESPN has not engaged in any contract negotiations with him.
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ESPN → address → him
His deal expires in May 2027, after the Super Bowl in February that he will call.
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he → expire → that
Aikman suggested that leaving ESPN now appears to be the most likely outcome.
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leaving → suggest → ESPN
"It just seems to be where they’re going," he said on KTCK The Ticket in Dallas.
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he → seem → Dallas
As of publication, there is still plenty of mystery surrounding why ESPN wouldn't want to keep Aikman.
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ESPN → be → Aikman
His current deal pays him around $18 million per year.
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deal → pay → year
ESPN, however, is paying others more, including Buck, Stephen A. Smith and Pat McAfee.
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ESPN → pay → Buck
As the lead NFL analyst for Monday Night Football and ESPN's first Super Bowl this February, there is an argument that Aikman is the most valuable member of that group.
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Aikman → be → group
One industry-wide theory is that Buck wants a new partner.
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Buck → want → partner
At the very least, Buck signing an extension before Aikman proves he is willing to work with someone else.
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he → sign → someone
He also apparently wasn't interested in using his leverage to ensure that he and Aikman remained together.
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he → use → leverage
Sources close to Buck have denied this.
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Sources → deny → this
Another theory is that ESPN wants Peyton and Eli Manning in the booth and views this as its opportunity.
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ESPN → want → opportunity
However, unless the Mannings have privately agreed to such a move, which seems unlikely, pairing them with Buck sounds more like wishful thinking than an actual plan.
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pairing → agree → plan
ESPN moved Jason Kelce into the color analyst role alongside Dave Pasch and Kurt Warner for its international games on NFL Network this season.
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ESPN → move → Network
ESPN could envision eventually pairing him with his brother Travis, who is expected to retire from the NFL after this season, alongside Buck.
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who → envision → Buck
On paper, that sounds intriguing.
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that → sound → paper
The problem is that there is no indication Travis is interested in becoming a full-time game analyst, much less that the Kelce brothers would be ready to anchor ESPN's most important NFL property.
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brothers → be → property
He is an impending media free agent and is viewed as a potential No. 1 game analyst, a role he previously held at Fox before Tom Brady arrived.
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Brady → view → Fox
Still, it's difficult to see why ESPN would prefer him to Aikman, who brings more gravitas, popularity and, most importantly, 25 years of chemistry with Buck.
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who → see → Buck
Sure, Olsen is 18 years younger than Aikman and would presumably cost less.
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Olsen → cost → less
If ESPN's goal were to get younger and cheaper, though, re-signing Buck — who is only two years younger than Aikman — to a nine-figure extension doesn't exactly fit that philosophy.
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who → get → philosophy
From the outside, each alternative looks like a gamble, and probably one that wouldn't leave ESPN with a better booth than the one it already has.
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it → look → one
That's what makes the situation so puzzling.
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situation → make → ?
ESPN spent five years trying to find a suitable Monday Night Football booth.
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ESPN → spend → booth
After Mike Tirico left in 2016 and Jon Gruden returned to coaching after the 2017 season, the network cycled through various combinations involving Steve Levy, Sean McDonough, Joe Tessitore, Booger McFarland, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick.
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network → leave → Levy
For one reason or another, none of them clicked.
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none → click → them
There was even industry chatter at the time that the instability and poor reception surrounding ESPN's broadcasts affected the quality of games the NFL scheduled for Monday Night Football.
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NFL → be → Football
For what it's worth, ESPN has enjoyed a noticeably stronger slate of games since Buck and Aikman arrived in 2022.
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Buck → enjoy → 2022
Other factors — including ESPN's improved relationship with the NFL — undoubtedly played a role as well.
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factors → include → role
Either way, ESPN finally found a booth worthy of the NFL's premier games, if not the standard for NFL broadcasting altogether, and now appears prepared to break it up.
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ESPN → find → it
Unless there is more to the story than anyone outside the company knows, it's difficult to understand the logic.
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it → be → logic
Of course, skeptics have dismissed the entire saga as a negotiating tactic by ESPN.
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skeptics → dismiss → ESPN
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
