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Joe Buck Signs $100M+ Deal for ESPN's Monday Night Football
Confirmed
In Short: Joe Buck has signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension with ESPN to continue as the play-by-play announcer for Monday Night Football.
ESPN has locked in Joe Buck for the next six years, with a reported $108 million contract extension, ensuring he will remain the voice of Monday Night Football through the 2030 NFL season.
Buck's new deal comes after the network's successful Monday Night Football season opener, which drew an audience of 23.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched Week 1 game in ESPN's MNF era.
The contract reunites Buck with longtime partner Troy Aikman, who joined ESPN on a five-year, $90 million deal shortly before Buck's original contract.
Buck's move to ESPN in 2022 reunited him with Aikman, creating a formidable broadcasting duo that has already made a significant impact, including calling the network's first Super Bowl.
With Buck's deal in place, the future of Aikman's contract and his next move will be closely watched, as the two have become a cornerstone of ESPN's NFL coverage.
What's confirmed
- ESPN’s Monday Night Football season opener between the Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs delivered an audience of 23.2 million viewers across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and NFL+, becoming the most-watched Week 1 game in ESPN’s Monday Night Football era (2006-present, 36 games).
- Only two telecasts have drawn larger audiences during that span: the 2023 Super Bowl rematch between the Eagles and Chiefs and the 2023 Christmas-night matchup between the Ravens and 49ers.
What's still developing
- PT RELATED: ESPN & ABC's star-studded 2026-27 NBA regular season broadcast schedule The rich tradition of athletic competition established by ABC Sports continues with the best games each and every weekend during the NBA season right through the NBA Finals.
- 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.
- 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.
- The six-year contract for Buck ensures that he will be on the call for ESPN's two Super Bowls during that span.
- Per The Athletic's Andrew Marchand, Buck has agreed to a six-year extension with the network that will pay him "in the neighborhood" of $108 million.
- The $18 million average annual salary for Buck on his new deal puts him in a tie for third among all NFL broadcasters.
- 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.