Joe Buck Agrees to $108M ESPN Extension

Joe Buck agreed to a six-year ESPN contract extension worth roughly $108 million, The Athletic's Andrew Marchand reported on September 16, 2026. The deal raises his pay from $15 million a year to about $18 million and keeps him calling Monday Night Football through at least 2031, covering ESPN's first Super Bowl in February 2027 at SoFi Stadium and another in 2031. His previous five-year, $75 million deal, signed when he left Fox in 2022, brings the combined ESPN total to about $183 million over 11 years. In an April interview with Richard Deitsch of Sports Business Journal, Buck said if someone handed him a contract through the screen he would sign it without looking, adding he had loved every second and hoped to finish his career at ESPN. ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro is interested in acquiring MLB World Series rights beginning 2029 and has told Buck he wants him on the call if that happens; Fox holds those rights through 2028, and Buck's new deal includes no World Series guarantee. Buck called 24 World Series for Fox, last in 2022. What is contested: outlets differ on whether the extension runs through 2031 or 2032. Unresolved next is Troy Aikman, Buck's partner for 25 seasons, whose five-year, $90 million contract expires after the 2026 season and who remains unsigned.