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Joe Buck Lands $100M+ Contract to Continue Calling Monday Night Football
Confirmed
In Short: Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with ESPN, securing his role as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football with a deal worth 'in the neighborhood' of $108 million.
Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with ESPN, securing his role as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football with a deal worth "in the neighborhood" of $108 million, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. This move reunites Buck with longtime partner Troy Aikman, who joined the network on a five-year, $90 million deal shortly before Buck's extension.
The deal, which includes an average annual salary of $18 million for Buck, ties him to ESPN through the 2030 NFL season. Buck spent 27 years at Fox from 1994 to 2021, where he did play-by-play for the network's NFL and MLB coverage. With this new contract, Buck will be on the call for ESPN's two Super Bowls during that span.
The Week 1 matchup on Monday Night Football saw two AFC West powerhouses clash in Kansas City, as the Chiefs began to re-establish their dominance over the division. The game, which featured Buck and Aikman, was a great opportunity for the duo to get back into a groove as they prepare to call the network's first Super Bowl.
The Buffalo Bills and coach Joe Brady make their Highmark Stadium regular-season debut when they battle the NFC North-contending Detroit Lions on 'Thursday Night Football' to get the Week 2 NFL schedule underway. Meanwhile, the ESPN Monday Night Football season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers, becoming the most-watched Week 1 game in ESPN’s Monday Night Football era (2006-present, 36 games).
The marquee AFC West showdown ranked as the third-most-watched Monday Night Football telecast of ESPN’s era (2006-present; 362 games) and the most-watched MNF game since 2023. This strong viewership is expected to continue with Buck's new deal, ensuring that he will remain a key figure in ESPN's NFL coverage for the foreseeable future.
What's confirmed
- Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with ESPN, securing his role as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football with a deal worth "in the neighborhood" of $108 million, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. This move reunites Buck with longtime partner Troy Aikman, who joined the network on a five-year, $90 million deal shortly before Buck's extension.
- The deal, which includes an average annual salary of $18 million for Buck, ties him to ESPN through the 2030 NFL season. Buck spent 27 years at Fox from 1994 to 2021, where he did play-by-play for the network's NFL and MLB coverage. With this new contract, Buck will be on the call for ESPN's two Super Bowls during that span.
- The Week 1 matchup on Monday Night Football saw two AFC West powerhouses clash in Kansas City, as the Chiefs began to re-establish their dominance over the division. The game, which featured Buck and Aikman, was a great opportunity for the duo to get back into a groove as they prepare to call the network's first Super Bowl.
- The Buffalo Bills and coach Joe Brady make their Highmark Stadium regular-season debut when they battle the NFC North-contending Detroit Lions on 'Thursday Night Football' to get the Week 2 NFL schedule underway. Meanwhile, the ESPN Monday Night Football season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers, becoming the most-watched Week 1 game in ESPN’s Monday Night Football era (2006-present, 36 games).
- The marquee AFC West showdown ranked as the third-most-watched Monday Night Football telecast of ESPN’s era (2006-present; 362 games) and the most-watched MNF game since 2023. This strong viewership is expected to continue with Buck's new deal, ensuring that he will remain a key figure in ESPN's NFL coverage for the foreseeable future.
What's still developing
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- It turns out that those narratives and the star power on the field Monday night loomed large in Aikman’s mind.
- After Collinsworth joined NBC Sports prior to the 2005 season, Buck and Aikman became a two-man broadcast team.