ESPN will have an all-star team to broadcast Monday Night Football games for the 2022 season and beyond. On Wednesday, ESPN announced it has signed Joe Buck and Troy Aikman to multi-year deals to be the voices of Monday Night Football. Both Buck and Aikman join ESPN after spending two decades on Fox, and the pair will enter their 21st NFL season in the booth together, matching Pat Summerall and John Madden’s record as on-air NFL partners. And as part of their agreement, Buck and Aikman will both contribute content to ESPN+. They will be joined by Lisa Salters who returns as the sideline reporter.
“Everything about Monday Night Football, including the broadcast, set the standard for the modern NFL experience,” Buck said in a statement. “My earliest memories of walking around football stadiums are tagging along with my dad as he called Monday Night Football on radio. To return to the stadium on Monday nights with Troy – who I have the utmost comfort with and confidence in – and begin a new chapter, for us and ESPN, has me excited about this season and our future.”
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“The opportunity to be a voice on Monday Night Football, adding to its legacy and being a part of the future of the NFL on ESPN, has me motivated and reflective,” Aikman said in a statement. “As a kid in California, the voices of Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and my mom’s personal favorite, Don Meredith, echoed throughout our living room each week. Joe and I are humbled to be part of that same tradition that has existed for more than 50 years across generations of football fans. I am looking forward to the next several years with ESPN and all our new teammates.”
ESPN will call more NFL games for the 2022-23 season, increasing from 20 to 22. The network will air an exclusive Monday Night Football game on ABC and an exclusive Sunday international game on ESPN+. And with the Week 18 doubleheader, ESPN will have three weeks with multiple games. There were reports of both Buck and Aikman joining ESPN, but now it’s official. They are set to make their Monday Night Football debut on Sept. 12.
“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,” Jimmy Pitaro, Chairman, ESPN and Sports Content 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.”