ESPN is reportedly paying Pat McAfee north of $15 million per year in a quest to gain more currency with a younger generation of sports.
While he is a lovable guy, there seems to be some concern inside ESPN headquarters regarding Pat McAfee.
It came out weeks ago that the retired NFL punter pays Aaron Rodgers more than seven figures for the Jets quarterback to appear on “The Pat McAfee Show” every Tuesday, That has everyone else thinking what are the rules that pertain to McAfee as opposed to them.
Ben Strauss of the Washington Post reported:
“Still, the report of the payments was gossiped about by ESPN colleagues because of the gaudy amount and also what it might mean should another ESPN show want Rodgers to appear. There could be an element of professional jealousy involved but, more broadly, the question that came up most among ESPN staffers is what, exactly, are the rules for McAfee?
There was the “suck it” clip, but there also has been internal chafing at his seeming dismissal of Washington State football fans and a decades-long “GameDay” tradition. Another clip that circulated among staffers was McAfee’s spiraling speculation on the exit of Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams and an FBI raid that may or may not have happened. (One former ESPN reporter said there used to be a designated person to discuss with talent how they might handle sensitive off-the-field issues before any TV or radio show.)”
If it seems like McAfee does not have much of a lease, it’s because that is true and it’s due to him bringing more eyes to the network. Just as Stephen A. Smith does due to him being the highest-paid person on the network. The highly regarded people are going to get more freedom to do and say what they want.
Despite his show being a success, it is not resonating with college football fans. A group of College GameDay viewers were recently surveyed by The Athletic and it revealed 49 percent of the audience doesn’t enjoy McAfee on the show.
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Because of that, McAfee revealed he might not return for the 2024 season.
