Joe Buck is leaving Fox and expected to sign a 5-year contract worth up to $75 million in total, the New York Post reported Friday.
The move is the latest in the NFL's ongoing game of thrones, started after Tony Romo signed a $175 million contract in 2020 to remain with CBS.
Buck gives up a lot to leave Fox. The network made him the youngest NFL TV man ever, at 25 years old, in 1994, and he'd been the voice of the network for more than a quarter century. At Fox, Buck called a record 24 World Series and six Super Bowls. ESPN's baseball portfolio pales in comparison to Fox's, and it is not slated to host a Super Bowl until the 2026 season. (At Fox, Buck would've called two of the next three Super Bowls.) Fox's late Sunday afternoon window typically draws more viewers than ESPN's Monday Night package.
But what Buck gives up, in both wattage and hours on the air, pales in comparison to what he gains. First on the list is the money; Buck made $11 million a year at Fox, and the ESPN deal takes him up to as high as $15. Next is friendship. (And isn't that worth more than money after all?) Joining ESPN reunites Buck with longtime partner Troy Aikman, who joined the network last month at a cost of $90 million. Buck and Aikman have worked together since 2002, and as a 2-man booth since 2005.
"I think a lot of partners get along, but to be as good friends as what we are — he truly is one of my best friends," Aikman told WFAA-TV in Dallas last week. "He's been a fantastic partner, in my opinion the best in the business. Yeah, there's nothing I'd love more than to continue to work with him."
The Post also reports Buck will produce shows for ESPN+.
When considering that Buck will now make more money to work less often, the move was an easy one, network loyalties and all.
In securing the Buck and Aikman team, ESPN signals a fundamental reimagining of the value of a A-list broadcasters. The Worldwide Leader has worked hard to increase its standing among NFL broadcasters -- adding a playoff game, upping its regular season schedule to 25 games in 2023, and rejoining the Super Bowl rotation after two decades on the outside looking in. Between Buck, Aikman and the Manning brothers, ESPN will spend $50 million a year simply on the soundtrack to its NFL games, which it pays more than $2 billion a year to air.
From the Post:
The network also feels it now has the star power to attract even better games from the NFL.
That $50 million a year, in ESPN's mind, is an investment, or at least an educated gamble. People may or may not watch games for the announcers, but they watch games for the matchups, and the network believes better announcers will lead to better matchups.
With Buck and Aikman gone, Fox also signals it views the value of A-list talent differently than its peers. The No. 1 crews at CBS (Jim Nantz, Romo), NBC (Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth, who just signed a new $12.5 million deal), ESPN (Buck, Aikman) and Amazon (expected to be Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit) will average north of $10 million a year per announcer. Fox won't be anywhere close to that. Its No. 2 crew (Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olson) made between $3 and 4 million in 2021, according to the Post.
Assuming Fox slides that pair up a chair -- and that seems like a safe assumption, considering how odd it would be if Fox went big game hunting after not offering Aikman a new contract and letting Buck walk -- they may not earn $10 million a year between them. And that's the crew that will probably call two of the next three Super Bowls, including this coming season's.
On the balance sheet, Fox's position is undoubtedly correct. Will any of the 112.3 million people that watched Super Bowl LVI not tuned into Super Bowl LVII because Burkhardt and Olsen (or someone else) will call the game instead of Buck and Aikman? No.
But will the NFL be more inclined to hold a Cowboys-Packers game for Monday night instead of a Sunday afternoon because of Buck and Aikman?
ESPN is about to spend $50 million a year to find out.