Joe Buck enters stratosphere with $100m ESPN deal – but where does that leave Troy Aikman?

Joe Buck is set to sign a $100million-plus contract with ESPN.

The Athletic cited anonymous sources when revealing the salary, which sees Buck paid handsomely as the voice of Monday Night Football.

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His deal is said to be worth around $108 million and ties down the broadcast star for the Super Bowls the network is broadcasting at the end of the current season and in 2031.

Buck's Salary would rise from $15 million to $18 million annually.

Troy Aikman, the other half of ESPN's crack duo, has not yet agreed an extension.

They have been working together for 25 seasons -- the longest pairing ever in NFL booths.

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Aikman and Buck left FOX Sports for ESPN together four years ago for a combined $165 million and you would imagine that the former Dallas Cowboys QB is next in line.

Buck also served as play-by-play announcer on FOX's World Series coverage.

The Athletic claims ESPN chairman is interested in landing the MLB finale in 2029 and would like the newly-extended star to front it.

By the end of his contract, Buck will be three Super Bowls shy of the all-time record shared by Al Michaels and Pat Summerall, who have called 11.

Pat McAfee given free rein

Stephen A. Smith was once the jewel in ESPN's crown and best-paid star, but McAfee's reported $60 million annual contract is set to blow him out of the water.

Smith admits that McAfee is operating in a way he never has.

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"Pat McAfee has a level of independence I’ve never had," he told Matt Iseman of Front Office Sports Tonight.

"He owns his own platforms. He leases that to ESPN. I’m employed by ESPN because ESPN owns First Take. I don’t own First Take, they do. He just leases his show to ESPN; We work for ESPN.

"And so that’s not to imply that Pat is not a part of the team because he’s on ESPN’s airwaves. But there’s a different set of rules that we’re obligated and culpable and attached to that he’s not.

"When people talk about that, they’re just missing the boat.

"They don’t get the fact that he doesn’t work for us. You see, he works for himself. And that’s a testament to him."

Smith is on a $105 million contract and clearly doesn't feel the need to get jealous of his colleague.

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