The rise of Pat McAfee
From 2009 to 2016, Pat McAfee was most well-known as the punter of the Indianapolis Colts. As a member of the team, he earned first-team All-Pro honors in 2014, and two Pro Bowl appearances in 2014 and 2016. With his accolades at both the collegiate and professional levels, McAfee has claimed his spot as one of the greatest punters of all time. As his football career has since passed him by, though, he has become a jack of many trades.
Most notably, McAfee hosts The Pat McAfee Show on ESPN, ESPN+, and YouTube every day. It is a three-hour sports talk show that has taken the world by storm. The show began in 2019 as part of a deal with DAZN and Westwood One, and was originally broadcast through the radio and live from DAZN martial arts cards. In early 2020, CBS Sports Radio began carrying the program, and in May 2020, the show began streaming on YouTube instead of DAZN.
Later in 2020, the show moved to SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio and moved time slots, but continued to broadcast live on YouTube. In late 2021, McAfee announced a massive deal with FanDuel, making it the lead provider for the rapidly growing show. In August 2022, The Pat McAfee Show left SiriusXM after a disagreement regarding a contract extension and began streaming solely on YouTube.
The show remained on YouTube for over a year before an even better offer came their way. On Sept. 7, 2023, the show penned a deal said to be worth $85 million over five years with ESPN. The entirety of the three-hour show is broadcast on ESPN’s YouTube channel and ESPN+, along with McAfee’s own channel. The first two hours can be viewed on ESPN before the change to the aforementioned platforms.
As the show has grown increasingly more popular, controversies have surrounded it. Most notably, star quarterback and frequent guest Aaron Rodgers used the platform to spread misinformation regarding the COVID-19 vaccine and the NFL’s policies regarding the pandemic. Rodgers also spoke about his plans to release names from the infamous list of clients of sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein on the program.
Even before the show became a hit, McAfee began appearing on World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) programming as a pre-show analyst. Starting in 2018, he appeared at many of their NXT TakeOver events and quickly became a color commentator on the Smackdown brand alongside Michael Cole. McAfee rose to stardom in the wrestling world and was even offered a match at WrestleMania 38, WWE’s top event of the year. He accepted the offer and won his match against Austin Theory, before promptly challenging then-chairman Vince McMahon to an impromptu match which resulted in a McMahon victory. Since then, McAfee has made numerous appearances at WWE shows, many of which were pay-per-view events.
McAfee has always had a charismatic personality, which makes him perfect as a host, commentator, and professional wrestler. His rise to fame has been nothing short of astonishing as he is now one of the most well-known names in sports media.