The split between Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman and ESPN looks inevitable after the commentator’s comments about his future away from the booth when his contract expires after the Super Bowl in February.

Aikman’s uncertain future at ESPN has also been complicated by his reported confrontation with longtime partner Joe Buck before the Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Rams Monday Night Football game earlier this month.

On Friday, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported that ESPN is set for another round of cost-cutting measures, a factor in the network’s attitude towards Aikman’s contract.

Analyst Reveals ESPN’s Reluctance To Negotiate Troy Aikman’s Contract

In his lengthy report, Marchand detailed that ESPN believes there is depth in the NFL game-analyst market and that ESPN views the relationship between Aikman and Buck as too strained.

“Sources with direct knowledge of ESPN’s thinking said negotiating with Aikman at this time doesn’t work because, on top of not wanting to invest in a relationship that has gone sour, ESPN has been in cost-cutting mode with a new round of layoffs forthcoming. Additionally, network executives feel that there is depth in the NFL game-analyst market,” Marchand wrote.

“Ultimately, sources inside ESPN briefed on their outlook say executives feel as if the network has just paused negotiations with Aikman. Perhaps most important to their calculus is the idea that the Buck-Aikman relationship is too strained. They have chosen Buck.”

Buck reportedly quietly agreed to a six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN, while Aikman remains under his current contract through March 2027 without an extension.

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Buck first partnered at Fox Sports in 2002 alongside Cris Collinsworth before becoming a duo three years later. Aikman and Buck are in their 25th season together, having surpassed Pat Summerall and John Madden as the longest-running booth pairing in NFL history.

The pair moved together to ESPN in 2022, but while Buck’s contract has been renewed, Aikman’s five-year, $90 million contract remains untouched as it runs out after the Super Bowl.

According to Puck, Aikman’s representatives initiated talks with ESPN and floated a valuation of around $30 million per year, approaching Tom Brady’s reported $37.5 million annual salary at Fox.

The network reportedly decided to pause talks until after the Super Bowl, and even when Aikman’s representatives offered to accept the same near-18% raise that Buck received, ESPN declined.

The broadcast world has been in flux ever since CBS parted ways with former Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo after he was arrested for operating while intoxicated and promoted J.J. Watt to his seat permanently. Aikman’s impending departure from ESPN is set to throw the broadcasting world into further chaos as one of television’s top jobs falls vacant.