It’s finally official: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman are ESPN’s new Monday Night Football commentators.
ESPN made the announcement on Wednesday, cementing what had been rumored for weeks.
Buck and Aikman are defecting from Fox, where they spent 20 years in the booth together. They’ve called over 300 games together, including six Super Bowls. Sideline reporter Lisa Salters and rules analyst John Parry will also be joining Buck and Aikman for MNF.
As part of their deal, Buck and Aikman will be contributing content to ESPN+. The details of their contributions will be announced at a later date.
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“When you have the opportunity to bring in the iconic, longest-running NFL broadcasting duo, you take it, especially at a time when we are on the cusp of a new era in our expanding relationship with the NFL,” ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said. “The NFL continues to ascend, and we now have more games than ever before, providing additional opportunities for Joe, Troy and our deep roster of commentators.”
When Pitaro said that ESPN now has “more games than ever,” he really meant it. 22 NFL games will be broadcast on ESPN during the 2022 season.
Buck, Aikman thrilled to be joining ESPN
Buck and Aikman both tweeted shortly after ESPN made the announcement. Buck recorded a short video and seemed genuinely excited about working for the same network his father, legendary announcer Jack Buck, once did.
Aikman didn’t record a video so we can’t see or hear his excitement, but he did use an exclamation point in his tweet.
Like most kids of my generation, I grew up watching MNF w Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell & my mom’s favorite Don Meredith so you can only imagine my excitement to be part of the legacy of MNF & continue working w Joe Buck, my broadcast partner for the last 20 years!#MNFonESPN???? pic.twitter.com/MKPeqncs0l
— Troy Aikman (@TroyAikman) March 16, 2022
Buck and Aikman will make their MNF debut on September 12.
