Joe Buck and Troy Aikman signed multi-year agreements with ESPN to be the new voices for Monday Night Football. The news was announced on Wednesday. They have been partners for over 20 years at Fox Sports, broadcasting the NFL Game of the Week. Both men, who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, will also contribute content for ESPN+.
“When you have the opportunity to bring in the iconic, longest-running NFL broadcasting duo, you take it, especially at a time when we are on the cusp of a new era in our expanding relationship with the NFL,” said Jimmy Pitaro, Disney’s chairman of ESPN and sports content. “The NFL continues to ascend, and we now have more games than ever before, providing additional opportunities for Joe, Troy and our deep roster of commentators.”
In this upcoming season, Buck and Aikman will tie the legendary broadcasting duo of Pat Summerall and John Madden with their 21 years together in the booth. They have called six Super Bowls, more than any other partners except Summerall and Madden.
“Everything about Monday Night Football, including the broadcast, set the standard for the modern NFL experience,” Buck, an eight-time Emmy Award winner, said in a statement. “My earliest memories of walking around football stadiums are tagging along with my dad as he called Monday Night Football on radio.
“To return to the stadium on Monday nights with Troy — who I have the utmost comfort with and confidence in — and begin a new chapter, for us and ESPN, has me excited about this season and our future.”
Lisa Salters, who is Monday Night Football’s longest-tenured sideline reporter, will return for her 11th campaign on the series. ESPN’s newly assembled team will make their debut on September 12.
Aikman, who won three Super Bowl titles as the Dallas Cowboys quarterback, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. He will serve as Monday Night Football’s color commentator. Buck entered the Hall in 2020 with the Pete Rozelle Radio-Television award.
“The opportunity to be a voice on Monday Night Football, adding to its legacy and being a part of the future of the NFL on ESPN, has me motivated and reflective,” Aikman said in a statement. “As a kid in California, the voices of Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and my mom’s personal favorite, Don Meredith, echoed throughout our living room each week.
“Joe and I are humbled to be part of that same tradition that has existed for more than 50 years across generations of football fans. I am looking forward to the next several years with ESPN and all our new teammates.”
ESPN will broadcast 22 games during the 2022-23 season, which is a two game increase from last year. Buck and Aikman are expected to call 18 of those. One Monday Night Football game will be aired exclusively on ABC, who owns ESPN and there is also a Sunday international game that will be a part of the ESPN package.
The schedule for the 2022-23 season includes three weeks with multiple NFL games on ESPN’s networks, with that number increasing to five beginning in the 2023-24 season. ESPN will continue to carry the Pro Bowl.
According to the New York Post, Buck’s deal is apparently five years and worth between $60-75 million. Aikman’s deal is five years and $90 million.
