Pro Football Hall of Famer Troy Aikman is working the final season of his ESPN contract with no extension in place. It’s been the story in town after reports of an argument with his “Monday Night Football” partner Joe Buck came to light.

Meanwhile, sports media columnist and podcast host Richard Deitsch has a prediction for how the rest of the ride goes for the Dallas Cowboys legend.

Troy Aikman’s Own Words Set Up a Guarantee

In a post on Monday night, Deitsch guaranteed that Aikman and Buck “will be total pros on-air until the end of the year,” a season that ends with ESPN’s first Super Bowl in February 2027.

However, he also added that “what ESPN cannot avoid is Buck/Aikman being a major story at the Super Bowl.”

Deitsch’s post comes four days after Aikman told Underscore Media’s Jimmy Traina how he reads his own future.

“It just seems to be where they’re going, that they’re gonna go in a different direction because there’s been no talks, no contract negotiations. We’re in a Super Bowl year. The Super Bowl is Feb. 14. My contract ends in March. It just doesn’t seem logical that if they were gonna keep me, something wouldn’t be in place before that.”

As for the broadcasts themselves, Deitsch guaranteed there would be “no drop-off in performance.”

On the first point, Aikman has already given his own answer. When asked by Traina whether it would be difficult to finish the year, he said: “The rest of the season will be fine. Excited about it. Looking forward to it. It’s awesome that we got the Super Bowl. Not a problem at all.”

The second point has some history. Super Bowl 61 would be the seventh Super Bowl Aikman and Buck have called together, after six at Fox. It is also the first of two Super Bowls ESPN is set to televise, after the 2026 and 2030 seasons.

Joe Buck’s New Deal Leaves Aikman as the Open Question

Aikman is in his 25th year as an NFL broadcaster, having signed a reported five-year, $90 million contract with ESPN in 2022. Both he and Buck are also represented by the same agency, CAA.

That move ended Aikman’s two-decade run at Fox, which signed Tom Brady to a 10-year, $375 million deal the same year, and ESPN brought Buck over as well.

The pairing has drawn big numbers at ESPN. Aikman, Buck, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge averaged 23.2 million viewers for this season’s Week 1 Chiefs-Broncos game, ESPN’s most-watched Week 1 “Monday Night Football” broadcast since it landed the package in 2006.

Buck’s future, at least, is now settled. ESPN negotiated a six-year, $108 million extension with him in September, according to The Athletic.

Aikman got no such deal. Going back to his days with the Cowboys, he had never worked the final year of a contract before this one. When he went on Deitsch’s podcast in September, he said: “I thought it would be done. It’s not. When it might get done, if it gets done, is anyone’s guess.”

Meanwhile, ESPN has said in a statement that it won’t be “addressing talent contract specifics before the Super Bowl.” All signs point to Aikman heading to free agency after this season ends, and the speculation about his next landing spot will continue to be a major talking point until then.