JOE BUCK REPORTEDLY AGREES SIX-YEAR DEAL WITH ESPN

Joe Buck has agreed a six-year, $108 million contract extension with ESPN, according to reports. The deal covers ESPN's first two Super Bowl broadcasts under its new NFL rights arrangement, and reportedly makes Buck one of the network's highest-paid employees at about $18 million a year. His previous contract, a five-year, $75 million deal signed when he left Fox for ESPN in 2022 alongside Troy Aikman, had been due to end this year. That deal already committed him to ESPN's first Super Bowl broadcast, in February next year, while the new extension reportedly adds ESPN's second Super Bowl, in 2031.

Buck and Aikman have worked together as a commentary pairing since 2002, becoming a two-person booth in 2005, and are now in their 25th season together, which ESPN describes as the longest-running broadcast duo in NFL history. Aikman, who joined ESPN alongside Buck in the same 2022 move, has not yet agreed a new contract, reports say. ESPN executive vice-president of communications Josh Krulewitz said the network would not discuss individual contract details publicly before the Super Bowl. In April, Buck told Sports Business Journal he would sign a new ESPN contract without hesitation and hoped to remain with the network for the rest of his career.

The extension covers ESPN's first two Super Bowl broadcasts, beginning in February. Krulewitz said ESPN's focus was on delivering its NFL coverage in what he called a historic season for the network, culminating in its first Super Bowl broadcast. Aikman's contract situation remains unresolved, according to reports, with no confirmation of whether he will remain alongside Buck beyond this season. ESPN has not publicly confirmed the financial terms of Buck's new deal.