‘Why Are You Letting Troy Aikman Walk Out the Door?’ — Media Analyst Questions ESPN’s Contract Extension Delay for Veteran Broadcaster

Nidheesh Kumar Sun, October 18, 2026 at 3:37 AM UTC

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Nov 3, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Television commentator Troy Aikman speaks before the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Arizona Cardinals at AT&T Stadium. © Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Jimmy Traina minced no words about the contract question hanging over ESPN’s first Super Bowl season. On Friday’s episode of “Traina Thoughts”, the host asked why the network hasn’t re-signed Troy Aikman, its “Monday Night Football” analyst, in the same year it is airing the Super Bowl.

“In their Super Bowl year, which they are promoting basically 24/7, you have the best broadcast booth in the game, and you’re not going to re-sign Troy Aikman?” Traina wondered.

Jimmy Traina Believes ESPN Can Still Mend Bridges and Pay Troy Aikman

Aikman, the Hall of Fame quarterback who won three Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys, is in the last year of the five-year deal he signed with ESPN in 2022. Joe Buck, his booth partner of 25 years, agreed to a six-year, $108 million extension in September, according to The Athletic.

Traina’s question capped a rocky week for the “Monday Night Football” booth. On Wednesday, Front Office Sports reported that Buck and Aikman argued amid tension over their separate contract talks before the Oct. 12 Bills-Rams game at SoFi Stadium, the site of this season’s Super Bowl. The argument eventually de-escalated, and FOS also reported that Aikman has not received a formal offer.

“They [ESPN] can still do it. Believe me, they’ve given ridiculous contracts to many people. But you would think they’d want everything nice, tidy, and clean for the Super Bowl year. They’re going to have events, press conferences, and media things. You think people are going to be asking about the NextGen Stats altcast? Why are you letting Troy Aikman walk out the door?” Traina added.

Meanwhile, Aikman didn’t deny the report when he went on Dallas radio station “96.7 The Ticket” on Thursday morning. He said there was probably a time and place to talk about it. The veteran broadcaster said he would call games through this season and become a free agent at the end of the year.

Later Thursday, Aikman laid out his reasoning in an interview with Traina: “It just seems to be where they’re going — that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations. We’re in a Super Bowl year. The Super Bowl is Feb. 14. My contract ends in March. It just doesn’t seem logical that if they were gonna keep me, something wouldn’t be in place before that.”

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For Traina, the question would stand even if the FOS report had never come out: “Like, why is Troy not re-signed?”

He acknowledged that money may be at issue but said that shouldn’t stop the network. “Whenever any company says they don’t have money, they have money. ESPN can pay Troy Aikman whatever he’s asking for.”

Aikman reportedly earns $18 million a year under his current $90 million deal. In September, FOS’ Michael McCarthy wrote that one possible reason no deal had come together was the gap between that figure and the $37.5 million a year Fox pays Tom Brady.

ESPN has said little in public. In September, Josh Krulewitz, ESPN’s executive vice president of communications, told FOS the network’s focus was on its football coverage leading up to its first Super Bowl and that it wouldn’t address talent contract specifics before then. A spokesperson also declined to comment for FOS’ report on the argument.

According to Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN’s plan as of September was to wait until after the Super Bowl to discuss a new deal with Aikman or move on. His contract runs through ESPN’s Super Bowl coverage and, according to Aikman, formally expires in March. But ESPN has yet to confirm whether an offer is coming.

This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”