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Joe Buck Lands $108M+ Contract to Continue Calling Monday Night Football
Confirmed
In Short: Joe Buck has signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension with ESPN, ensuring his role as the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football through the 2030 NFL season.
Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with ESPN that will pay him 'in the neighborhood' of $108 million, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. The deal, which includes an average annual salary of $18 million, ties Buck with the third-highest salary among NFL broadcasters. This contract reunites Buck with Troy Aikman, who joined ESPN on a five-year, $90 million deal, setting the stage for ESPN's coverage of the network's first Super Bowl during this period.
The move to ESPN reunites Buck with Aikman, who joined the network shortly before Buck's deal was finalized. ESPN's star-studded broadcast schedule for the 2026-27 NBA season is also set to continue, with the network promising the best games each weekend through the NBA Finals. Buck spent 27 years at Fox from 1994 to 2021, where he did play-by-play for the network's NFL and MLB coverage.
ESPN's Monday Night Football season debut averaged 23.2 million viewers, marking a strong start to the season. 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. Amazon will begin its Thursday Night Football schedule with a Lions-Bills game that marks the opening of the new Highmark Stadium.
What's confirmed
- Joe Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with ESPN that will pay him 'in the neighborhood' of $108 million, according to The Athletic's Andrew Marchand. The deal, which includes an average annual salary of $18 million, ties Buck with the third-highest salary among NFL broadcasters. This contract reunites Buck with Troy Aikman, who joined ESPN on a five-year, $90 million deal, setting the stage for ESPN's coverage of the network's first Super Bowl during this period.
- The move to ESPN reunites Buck with Aikman, who joined the network shortly before Buck's deal was finalized. ESPN's star-studded broadcast schedule for the 2026-27 NBA season is also set to continue, with the network promising the best games each weekend through the NBA Finals. Buck spent 27 years at Fox from 1994 to 2021, where he did play-by-play for the network's NFL and MLB coverage.
- ESPN's Monday Night Football season debut averaged 23.2 million viewers, marking a strong start to the season. 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. Amazon will begin its Thursday Night Football schedule with a Lions-Bills game that marks the opening of the new Highmark Stadium.
What's still developing
- Week 2 is always fun because you get to see who overreacts to what happened in Week 1.
- Fantasy managers love to panic, but you shouldn't rush to judgment after one game.
- For example, you should remain confident in Ja'Marr Chase, Colston Loveland and Jaylen Waddle, among others.
- As long as they are healthy, they should perform at a high level for the majority of the season.
- Brown (ankle) for at least the next four games, and Herbert could be without Ladd McConkey (ribs) in Week 2.
- There are plenty of other examples, pro and con, of how to react to what happened in Week 1.
- Great players aren't always great for every performance.
- It just stings a little more when one of your stars struggles in Week 1.