Pat McAfee Officially Signs Multimillion Dollar Deal With ESPN

WWE

Pat McAfee has officially signed a multimillion dollar deal with ESPN.

Last week, the New York Post reported that Pat McAfee would be exiting his deal with FanDuel to sign with ESPN.

On May 16, the NY Post provided an update to officially announce that McAfee had indeed signed a multimillion dollar deal with ESPN to bring “The Pat McAfee Show” to the network starting this fall.

The former SmackDown commentator will be leaving his four year, $120 million agreement with FanDuel in the second year to sign with ESPN.

The amount being offered to McAfee has not been confirmed, but it is more than eight figures per year, according to sources.

The move for the former NFL punter comes with Disney in the midst of layoffs that will see 7,000 jobs eliminated, including those at ESPN.

“The Pat McAfee Show” will air on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN YouTube. McAfee said that keeping the show on YouTube was a sticking point in the deal and potential other deals.

Pat McAfee started a relationship with ESPN after working on College GameDay in the fall and winter, which took him away from his WWE SmackDown commentary gig.

McAfee also said his show would remain the same and he would retain creative freedom in regards to how things operate.

ESPN later sent out the following release:

Pat McAfee Expands His Multiplatform ESPN Role as The Pat McAfee Show Moves to

• • The Pat McAfee Show will air live weekdays on ESPN, the ESPN YouTube Channel, the ESPN App and ESPN+
  • McAfee will continue his analyst role on ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, and hosting alternate presentations of college football telecasts

Former NFL player and one of the most successful voices in media, Pat McAfee is expanding his multiplatform ESPN role as part of a new multi-year agreement, officially announced this afternoon at The Walt Disney Company’s Advertising Sales Upfront presentation in New York.

The Pat McAfee Show, the highly successful and innovative weekday sports talk and discussion program, will move to ESPN this fall. In addition to hosting the daily show, McAfee will contribute to ESPN digital and social platforms. He will also continue his college football analyst role on ESPN’s College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, and host alternate presentations of ESPN college football telecasts.

The Pat McAfee Show, featuring McAfee and an ensemble of talented voices, will continue to deliver one-of-a-kind opinions, interviews and more when it moves to ESPN platforms this fall. The program will air live weekdays on ESPN, the ESPN YouTube Channel, the ESPN App and ESPN+. Details about ESPN’s new weekday afternoon schedule, which will continue to include SportsCenter, will be announced prior to The Pat McAfee Show launch this fall.

“Pat is a proven talent. He and his team have built The Pat McAfee Show into one of the most engaging programs in sports and all of media,” said ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro. “It’s a destination for athlete interviews and breaking news, and the centerpiece of a growing community of sports fans. We’re honored to bring Pat and the show to ESPN through a multifaceted, multiplatform approach.”

McAfee, the retired NFL All-Pro punter, has blazed a highly unique path to media stardom. The son of a truck driver – described as a “common man who has had the incredibly fortunate experience of living an extremely uncommon professional life,” McAfee originally launched his daily show in 2019. The Pat McAfee Show informs and entertains fans with humor, insight and perspective, while often breaking news and generating some of the most influential conversations in sports, including with many of the biggest names in sports.

In addition to McAfee himself, The Pat McAfee Show and its ancillary podcasts – the sports betting-themed Hammer Dahn and That’s Hockey Talk – feature former NFL linebacker and co-host A.J. Hawk, Evan Foxy, Zito Perez, Boston Connor Campbell, Ty Schmit, Tone Digs, Frank Maraldo, CFO Phil Mains, Casey Tok, Matt Bruce Brahn, Michael Dirdy Girdy, AQ Shipley, Bailey Bill McComas, Mitt McMahon, Coach Chuck Pagano, Aaron Rodgers, Darius Butler and Adam ‘Pacman’ Jones, among others.

“We are extremely honored that ESPN is blessing us with this opportunity to be a part of the next chapter of the ESPN family. We do not take that lightly and are going to work hard to make sure this is a success,” said McAfee. “All parties involved agree the time has come for a bunch of sports stooges in a Thunderdome in Indiana to sprinkle in some fun and celebration of sport as well.”

Beyond the weekday show, McAfee will continue to be an integral voice in ESPN’s college football presentation during the upcoming season. In 2022, he was named a full-time analyst on ESPN’s College GameDay, helping lead college football’s premier pregame show to its most-viewed regular season ever. The Pat McAfee Show team also hosted multiple college football alternate telecasts last season – including editions for the College Football Playoff Semifinals and National Championship Game – in collaboration with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions. In all, McAfee’s work with ESPN goes back to 2019 when he originally served as an analyst for Thursday night college football games and regularly appeared on Get Up.

About Pat McAfee
A college football All-American at West Virginia and All-Pro NFL punter with the Indianapolis Colts, McAfee has established himself as one of the most entertaining figures in sports media since retiring from football. In addition to hosting The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee has worked for a variety of media companies in various roles, spanning Wrestlemania to ESPN.

McAfee was selected by the Colts in the 2009 NFL Draft following his college career at West Virginia as a kicker and punter. A four-year starter (2005-08), McAfee finished with 384 points and accumulated more than 5,500 punting yards for the Mountaineers. He was named an All-American his senior year and finished his collegiate career as the all-time scoring leader at WVU. During his nine NFL seasons, McAfee was one of the league’s best punters. He was named an All-Pro (2014), a Pro Bowler (2014, 2016) and nominated for the NFL Hall of Fame (2022). A native of Plum, Pa., outside Pittsburgh, McAfee retired after the 2016 NFL season.

Here are results from the May 15 episode of WWE Raw:

Shinsuke Nakamura def. The Miz

It was announced Liv Morgan had suffered an injury and the scheduled Women’s Tag Team Championship match was cancelled

Mustafa Ali won a battle royal to become #1 contender for Gunther’s Intercontinental Championship at Night of Champions

Becky Lynch returned and cut a promo on Trish Stratus, challenging her to a match at Night of Champions

Dominik Mysterio def. Xavier Woods

As JD McDonagh left the arena after an interview, there was a tease of Finn Balor scouting him to recruit him for Judgment Day

Indus Sher (Sanga & Veer) def. two jobbers

Cody Rhodes promo on Brock Lesnar ahead of their Night of Champions match

Raquel Rodriguez def. Chelsea Green

Judgment Day (Finn Balor & Damian Priest) def. Kevin Owens & Sami Zayn after interference from Imperium, which had been instigated by Paul Heyman doing deals with Judgment Day and Imperium earlier in the night

Hello beautiful people…

We appreciate and love you all.. together we've truly changed the game.

🗣🗣 #UpToSomethingSZN UPDATE: pic.twitter.com/Yv8SpyNH0E

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 16, 2023

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