Report: Joe Buck Expected to Leave Fox Sports for MNF; Contract Worth Up to $75M

Troy Aikman has reportedly left Fox Sports to serve as a color commentator for ESPN's Monday Night Football broadcast, and it appears longtime broadcasting partner Joe Buck will make the same move.

According to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, Buck is "expected to sign a contract in the five-year, $60-75 million range with ESPN." 

Per Marchand, he had one year and $11 million left on his deal with Fox, but the media company will let him out of his contract "as a good gesture for his years of service."

ESPN is splashing the cash to remake its MNF booth—Marchand reported that Aikman's deal with the media company is for five years and $92.5 million. Add in the alternative broadcast with Peyton and Eli Manning, and Marchand noted ESPN will spend around $50 million a year for its MNF broadcast talent.

Since taking over as the MNF broadcaster in 2006, ESPN has had ups and downs attempting to match the iconic booths of the past led by play-by-play announcers like Al Michaels and Frank Gifford and commentators like Howard Cosell and John Madden. 

From 2006 to 2014, ESPN paired Mike Tirico with a number of color commentators, including Tony Kornheiser, Joe Theismann, Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden. The latter had the longest staying power, working from 2009 to 2017 before he departed to become the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.

Since his departure, ESPN has fiddled with the booth quite a bit, going from Joe Tessitore, Jason Witten and Booger McFarland in 2018 to Tessitore and McFarland in 2019 and Steve Levy, Brian Griese and Louis Riddick the past two seasons.

But Buck and Aikman—the NFL's longest-tenured broadcasting duo at 20 years together—should solidify ESPN's MNF booth. That duo, alongside the Manningcast, gives ESPN some punch on Monday nights.