Raiders Face Texans in Preseason Week 2 on Aug. 20

Q: With their contracts expiring, could this preseason matchup mark the beginning of the end for Buck and Aikman on ESPN?

Probably not. The Raiders-Texans preseason game is better viewed as part of Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s contract year than a likely farewell to ESPN. Both broadcasters are entering the final season of the five-year deals they signed in 2022, and those contracts expire after the 2026 NFL season. That timing makes every ESPN appearance more notable, including this preseason assignment. But the reporting around the negotiations points more toward extension talks than an imminent split. Front Office Sports and other outlets have reported mutual interest between ESPN and the Monday Night Football duo in getting new deals done. ESPN also has strong incentives to keep them. Buck and Aikman are central to the network’s NFL presentation, and ESPN is preparing for landmark Super Bowl broadcasts after the 2026 and 2030 seasons. The pair are scheduled to call ESPN/ABC’s first Super Bowl in February 2027, and executives reportedly view them as a stable, top-tier booth after years of churn on Monday Night Football. Ratings have been strong, with MNF averaging 16.5 million viewers last season. The real complication is price, not fit. Aikman and Buck are now represented by CAA, which could negotiate them as a package and push ESPN’s costs higher. Aikman is reportedly making about $18 million annually and Buck about $15 million, so the next round could be expensive. So this Raiders-Texans game may mark the start of a high-stakes negotiation window, but not necessarily the beginning of the end.

3 articles · Updated · Raiders.com · Aug 18

Las Vegas visits Houston on Thursday, Aug. 20, with kickoff set for 5:00 p.m. PT at Reliant Stadium in the Raiders' second preseason game.
ESPN will carry the national TV broadcast, with FOX5 airing locally in Las Vegas; Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Lisa Salters and Laura Rutledge are on the broadcast team.
KOMP 92.3 FM and Raider Nation Radio 920 AM will air the radio call with Jason Horowitz and Kirk Morrison, while Deportes Vegas 1460 AM provides the Spanish-language broadcast.
International fans can stream the game through market-specific links, and the Raiders will add pregame, postgame and press-conference coverage across FOX5, Raider Nation Radio and YouTube.