ESPN has a Super Bowl to prepare for, yet its two lead announcers for the big game are making headlines for all the wrong reasons. The tension between Troy Aikman and Joe Buck first surfaced in an August report by Front Office Sports, then spilled into public view in October when the outlet reported that the longtime partners had argued before Week 5 Monday Night Football.

Buck has reportedly signed a six-year, $108 million extension with ESPN, while Aikman remains without a deal beyond this season. Now, a new report has revealed what happened behind the scenes before their Oct. 12 confrontation at SoFi Stadium.

Troy Aikman Had Tense Meeting With ESPN Chairman Before Joe Buck Blowup

Earlier that day, Aikman had a tense, hour-long conversation with ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro, per Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.

The two discussed the growing rift between Aikman and his longtime broadcast partner and whether the duo could continue working together. Pitaro eventually asked Aikman a direct question: “Could you still work with Joe?” Aikman said he could. But that conversation proved to be just the warm-up for what happened later that day in the broadcast booth.

As previously reported, Buck and Aikman had an explosive, expletive-filled argument in the SoFi Stadium broadcast booth before the game between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams.

Sports media reporter Richard Deitsch praised Andrew Marchand’s latest reporting about the situation, expressing admiration for both broadcasters before addressing the “absolute mess” ESPN now faces.

“There are some incredible reporting details in this piece from Marchand. Not easy reporting to do at all,”Deitsch tweeted. “Aikman and Buck are the best broadcasting booth in the NFL. I have believed this for a couple of years. It is, of course, just my opinion. I like both people individually quite a bit.”

He continued, “What’s not opinion is that this [situation] is an absolute mess, and ESPN has a Super Bowl coming up, one of the biggest initiatives in company history. They are in absolutely uncharted waters here.”

Sports writer Tim Kawakami was far less generous in his assessment of ESPN’s handling of the situation.

“Good lord, ESPN, go ahead and keep making it worse,”Kawakami wrote.

Sports host Johnny Montalbano also pointed to the timing.

“The season that ESPN has the Super Bowl. The season that ESPN has been waiting for forever, and this is happening. Gonna be a long 3 and 1/2 months,”Montalbano wrote.

Others, however, weren’t so quick to blame ESPN. NFL writer Jarrett Bailey questioned Aikman’s own role in the split, pointing back to how the two ended up at the network after leaving Fox.

“If I’m remembering correctly, Aikman agreed to an ESPN deal before Buck while the two were still at Fox. Buck asked Fox if he could get out of his deal to go to ESPN, and they let him go. So Aikman acting like he was betrayed is hypocrisy to the highest degree,”Bailey wrote.

Former Lions Wire contributor Scott Warheit raised a similar objection.

“A reminder that Troy had no problem leaving Buck behind at FOX and junking a 20+ year partnership for more money or whatever at ESPN. So, I don’t really think Troy gets to be mad now that Buck signed his extension first,”Warheit wrote.

Sports announcer Chase Snyder believes the tension between the two broadcasters has been building for years, pointing to a 2023 report about changes ESPN made to its MNF production team.

“I remember this specific story in 2023 about ESPN changing out MNF directors and producers after the first year of Buck/Aikman. It came out behind the scenes that everyone loved Buck, and his partner was never involved. This seems to have been growing for years,”Snyder wrote.

The Athletic’s David Ubben offered little comfort to either broadcaster.

“Neither of these guys comes off great in this saga,”Ubben wrote.

Despite the public fallout, Marchand reported that Buck and Aikman are still expected to finish the season together, including Super Bowl LXI.

ESPN may still have its experienced pairing for the biggest game of the year, but getting them through the next few months without another blowup could be a challenge of its own.