Why ‘very disappointed’ Charles Barkley puts ESPN contract feud on Troy Aikman: ‘Not Joe Buck’s job’

Charles Barkley doesn’t understand why Troy Aikman is upset at Joe Buck.

ESPN gave Buck a reported six-year, $108 million contract extension that will see him remain the voice of “Monday Night Football,” while Aikman says he has yet to hear from the network regarding a new deal while his current one runs out after the Super Bowl.

Front Office Sports reported the two got into an argument before the Rams-Bills game on Oct. 12, and Puck later reported that Aikman’s position was “You f–ked me over!”

One source told Puck Aikman felt it was “the ultimate act of betrayal.” The two have called games together since 2002, first with Fox.

It all left Barkley, a longtime “Inside the NBA” analyst, befuddled.

“I’m very disappointed in Troy Aikman,” Barkley said on 97.5 The Fanatic last week. “Honestly, it’s not Joe Buck’s job to get him a deal. Like, he can’t tell them to give him a deal. Now if he wants to talk to Joe privately, that’s fine. But why are you mad? They gave Joe a deal. It looks like they don’t want to give you a deal, which they don’t have to give you a deal. But you don’t have to drag Joe Buck into it. Like, it ain’t his job. I’m pretty sure — they’ve been together 25 years, I’m pretty sure they love working together. But maybe they want to go in a different direction. I don’t understand why you’d be mad at Joe Buck. He ain’t negotiating the contract.”

Barkley brought up the fact that Aikman was the one who left Fox first in 2022 to join ESPN, before Fox allowed Buck to leave weeks later.

Aikman had an out in his Fox contract that allowed him to leave for a bigger contract. He got a five-year, $90 million deal from ESPN. Buck had a year left on his Fox deal at the time and needed permission to leave.

Aikman has been speaking publicly as if his time with ESPN will end after the Super Bowl, which would leave his broadcasting path unclear.

CBS just committed to JJ Watt as its No. 1 game analyst alongside Jim Nantz, giving the longtime Texans star a new contract after Tony Romo left the network following his drunk driving arrest.

Tom Brady and Cris Collinsworth are locked into the top gigs at Fox and NBC, respectively, while Kirk Herbstreit agreed to a new deal to remain on Amazon’s “Thursday Night Football,” though the streamer has outs if a top target becomes available, The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand reported.

It’s possible Aikman decides to pursue a front-office job.

He was a consultant for the Dolphins during their GM and coaching searches in the offseason, though Front Office Sports reported he doesn’t have a “formal and ongoing agreement” with the team.

“There’s probably a time and a place for all that. I don’t know if now is the time,” Aikman said of the Buck argument during an interview on 96.7 The Ticket on Oct. 15. “I don’t know if it’s hard to figure out kind of what happened. 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. 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.”