The inevitable Saturday Night Live skit should be very entertaining. But maybe not as entertaining as the reality.
With the dysfunction between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck continuing to simmer, Andrew Marchand of The Athletic has provided the clearest and most comprehensive details yet as to what happened, in a lengthy article that delves into the nooks and crannies of a 25-year relationship gone sour.
There’s a lot there, and it’s worth reading the whole thing. For these purposes, here are the facts that seemed to be the most significant.
First, Marchand reports that, before the Week 5 Monday night game in L.A. between the Bills and the Rams, ESPN president Jimmy Pitaro “had a tense one-hour chat” with Aikman. Per the report, Aikman and Pitaro “discussed the rupture” between Aikman and Buck, “and whether there is a future for the duo.”
“Could you still work with Joe?” Pitaro asked Aikman. Aikman said he could.
But then came the verbal altercation between Buck and Aikman, with Buck saying to Aikman (per Marchand), “You are not going to fucking talk to me?”
Marchand reports that Aikman believed Buck was hoping to bait Aikman into a backlash that would leave Buck looking like “the good guy.”
During their back-and-forth, Buck reportedly said to Aikman, “I’m not the reason you don’t have a contract.” Aikman reportedly suggested that Buck manipulated the constant turnover in the ranks of Monday Night Football producers and directors, telling Buck, “I never thought you’d do it to me.” (At some point, Aikman reportedly said more pointedly to Buck, per Dylan Byers of Puck, “You fucked me over!”)
Said Buck of the now-former producers and directors, “They got rid of them because you were screaming at them.”
The hard feelings, per Marchand, came from Aikman’s perception that Buck and ESPN secretly worked out a new contract “in the early spring” while Aikman was left to wait. That said, Marchand points out that Aikman agreed to leave Fox for ESPN at a time when it wasn’t clear whether Buck would be able to follow him to Monday night.
It’s unclear when Buck and ESPN specifically did their deal. In mid-April, Buck spoke as if he didn’t have a new contract. An August report from Front Office Sports created the clear impression that neither Buck nor Aikman had a new contract, and that their mutual agency (CAA) possibly would approach the negotiations as a package deal.
And while, as John Ourand of Puck has reported, Aikman’s camp at one point sought an increase from $18 million per year to $30 million (thanks to Tom Brady’s top-of-market $37.5 million annual pay), Marchand reports that Aikman eventually was willing to take the same 18-percent increase Buck received. ESPN passed.
As Marchand explains it, ESPN has now chosen not to negotiate with Aikman because: (1) it doesn’t want to further invest in a relationship gone sour; (2) the network is generally in cost-cutting mode (except when it isn’t); and (3) ESPN believes “there is depth in the NFL game-analyst market.”
Aikman’s side role with the Dolphins, per Marchand, isn’t a factor in ESPN’s reluctance to proceed. However, Aikman reportedly concedes that he should have told Pitaro about his plan to work for the Dolphins before embarking on the creation of an obvious conflict of interest.
From ESPN’s perspective, the negotiations are simply “paused.” Marchand reports that ESPN does not have a plan in place for a post-Aikman Monday night booth. Given that ESPN believes “there is depth in the NFL game-analyst market,” does it need one? ESPN likely realizes that, if it makes a decision after Super Bowl LXI to move on from Aikman, his seat will be easily filled.
Through it all, Buck and Aikman share close quarters for three hours or more every Monday night. Plenty of people are studying all words uttered and every glimpse of facial expressions and body language in search of evidence of a potential on-air fracas to come.
For now, Aikman sees the handwriting on the wall. He said this week there’s a “50-50 chance” he won’t be working in TV next year. His public comments about possibly working for the Cowboys (which he now says he regrets) make it clear that he’s available and willing to explore a full-time football role with one of the various 32 NFL franchises.
However it plays out, it’s unprecedented to have a prime-time network broadcast team in the throes of such public acrimony. On one hand, it tarnishes ESPN’s first-ever Super Bowl season. On the other hand, it adds another layer of reality show to the ultimate reality show that is the NFL.