FOX got to air a solid Big Ten matchup on Thursday night between Penn State and Purdue. And they have Joe Buck and ESPN to thank for the game.
Buck had one year left on his contract with FOX but wanted to leave once his longtime broadcasting partner Troy Aikman took a job with ESPN. FOX decided to let Buck out of his contract, but they did receive some compensation from ESPN.
ESPN allowed FOX to select one game before them that FOX wanted to air this college football season. According to Sports Business Journal, FOX selected the Penn State-Purdue game.
Per Sports Business Journal, Fox got rights to air Penn State-Purdue tonight (full national game) in a trade with ESPN in which Fox permitted Joe Buck to leave Fox with a year left on his contract to join ESPN's Monday Night Football.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) September 1, 2022
There originally was speculation that FOX took the Ohio State-Notre Dame game. But that game must have been too big for ESPN to give up. It will air on prime time on ABC.
The Penn State-Purdue game is airing nationally for FOX on Thursday night.
As for Aikman, he opted out of his contract with FOX to become a free agent, which is why ESPN did not have to trade anything to get him. They only had to pay the low, low price of $90 million to land the former Cowboys quarterback.
