THE contract drama between ESPN’s No.1 NFL booth partners Joe Buck and Troy Aikman has escalated to another level.

Buck, 57, and Aikman, 59, have worked together as broadcast partners for 25 seasons in the NFL.

They were seemingly an inseparable duo when they both headed to ESPN in 2022 from Fox on big-time deals.

But with both of their deals now in their final season, only Buck has been extended to date, handed a mega six-year, $108 million contract last month.

As the dust from that deal continues to settle, it has become apparent that there has been significant tension behind the scenes.

A report emerged just under two weeks ago about Buck and Aikman getting into an argument ahead of Monday Night Football in Week 5.

Buck had apparently been forced to ‘break the ice’ ahead of the Bills-Rams game before Aikman let his current feelings about his partner be known.

And now incredible further details have been revealed about how Aikman has been stewing over the whole saga for weeks ahead of the argument.

A report from Puck on Wednesday explained that Buck ‘breaking the ice’ was actually him ‘finally snapping’ following weeks of “Troy becoming increasingly cold, difficult, short, making comments,” per their source.

“He basically said, ‘Dude, are we really going to do this?’ And Troy’s position was: ‘You f***ed me over!’” the source added to Puck.

The report also added that Aikman didn’t learn of Buck’s new deal from his partner, ESPN, or even their shared agency, CAA.

Aikman reportedly felt ‘double crossed’ with another source telling Puck that he “saw it as the ultimate act of betrayal.” 

“They cut this deal in May and put it in a drawer. ESPN didn’t tell him, Joe didn’t tell him. Even CAA didn’t tell him,” a source added.

Aikman has all but confirmed that his time with ESPN is coming to an end at the end of his current contract.

The former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has even been tipped to leave ESPN ahead of their impending Super Bowl debut in February.

“I’ll broadcast through this season and I’ll be a free agent at the end of the year and kind of see what happens,” he said on 96.7 The Ticket last week after being asked about his situation.

“I’m looking forward to whatever the rest of this season does hold and the Super Bowl and all that and where my next landing spot may be.”

One massive possible spot is off the table as of Thursday, October 22 after CBS signed JJ Watt to a multi-year deal as the long-term replacement to Tony Romo.