The Pat McAfee Present, hosted by the ex–NFL punter turned TV presenter, is the one program on ESPN that opens with a warning label. It was one of many few concessions McAfee made to his new Disney-owned employer when he introduced his YouTube hit to the community in September in a five-year, $85 million deal. The label urges viewers to please keep in mind that the present is “meant to be comedic informative”—leisure, in different phrases, not journalism—and that the customarily dopey opinions and typically false details shared by him or his friends “don’t essentially mirror the beliefs” of anybody else at ESPN. The warning ends with a jokey plea: “Don’t sue us.”
McAfee is an athlete, not a reporter, and in relation to stuff like accuracy, he’s cautious to set the bar very low. He has develop into the epitome of athlete encroachment on terrain traditionally managed by nonathlete journalists, and to place it mildly, the journalists are usually not blissful about it. McAfee couldn’t care much less.
Pat McAfee’s affect is greater than his viewers. His hours-long present airs throughout TV’s noon lifeless zone, when most sports activities followers are at work or college. It averages simply 332,000 reside viewers on its linear broadcast, in line with the newest figures from ESPN, and factoring in different platforms like ESPN’s YouTube channel and TikTok, its each day viewers tops out at just below 900,000—a fraction of the eight-figure viewership for Monday Evening Soccer. However the numbers belie how a lot consideration he will get for the extra provocative issues which can be mentioned on the present, together with the dingbat views of the Jets quarterback and anti-vaxxer Aaron Rodgers. Airtime equals energy, and nobody at ESPN spends extra time on air than Pat McAfee. From the second he arrived, he’s arguably been the community’s most influential mouthpiece and indisputably its most polarizing.
In case you’re a newcomer to The Pat McAfee Present, it may be robust to observe. The present is stuffed with locker-room joshing delivered within the outer-Pittsburgh Yinzer accent of McAfee’s youth. It’s one among America’s extra unsung regional accents, tremendous enjoyable to mimic, however McAfee and his supporting panel of regulars—even those who aren’t from Pittsburgh—lay it on so thick, you would possibly have to seek the advice of an English-to-Yinzer dictionary. Groups win chompionships. Joe Flacco, the title of the ageing Tremendous Bowl–profitable quarterback, is pronounced Jee-oh Flacc-kew. Even the ticker on the backside of the display has a Yinzer accent: Program is spelled “progrum.”
Everybody observes a agency gown code: down. Means down. McAfee, who has bouffant hair that crests like an enormous wave at Nazaré, prefers black tees and white tanks. Boston Connor, one among two members of McAfee’s peanut gallery referred to as the Poisonous Desk, has a porn ’stache, an intentional mullet, and an limitless provide of animal-stencil T-shirts: wolves, lions, elephants, snow owls. He appears to be like as if he noticed Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover and thought to himself, That man appears to be like superior. Ty Schmit, the opposite half of the Poisonous Desk, favors Inexperienced Bay Packers jerseys and College of Iowa hoodies. McAfee will typically wrap up segments by main all of them in a spherical of applause for themselves, like they only aced a tackling drill. “Good seg, good seg,” he’ll say.
Watching an episode of The Pat McAfee Present is like attending mass at sports activities church. Since its inception in 2015 as a YouTube livecast on Barstool Sports activities and persevering with by means of its transfer to ESPN, the present has been broadcast from an unlimited studio–slash–dwelling gymnasium dubbed “the Thunderdome” on McAfee’s property exterior Indianapolis, the town the place he spent eight seasons with the Colts as a punter. His friends all seem like forged in his picture—jocular white dudes with beards—solely paler and softer of flesh. They’re not athletes, they’re not journalists, they’re not even notably good on TV, and but they’re on ESPN for 15 hours per week as a result of they’re mates with McAfee. When he actually will get rolling, his flock will take part with some call-and-response, however as an alternative of crying out “Amen” or “Reward Jesus,” they belch out a loud WHADD. Roughly translated, it means “Rattling proper.”
By the point McAfee retired unexpectedly from soccer at age 29 to pay attention full-time on The Pat McAfee Present, he’d made $15 million within the NFL, and in line with the prevailing knowledge on the time, he was out of his thoughts to stroll away from a job that paid him a fortune to kick a ball 5 or 6 instances a recreation. Within the NFL, although, kickers are marginal figures who get the highlight solely after they screw up. On The Pat McAfee Present, he’s the pope. He typically describes himself as a “dumb punter” and his buddies on the present as “a group of stooges,” however he’s much more shrewd than he lets on, and he proved it when he accepted ESPN’s supply. (He’s additionally a daily panelist on ESPN’s School GameDay, and a commentator for the WWE’s Monday Evening Uncooked. McAfee would possibly love professional wrestling much more than he loves soccer.)
The lads who watch The Pat McAfee Present—its viewers is nearly fully male—share rather a lot in widespread with Pat McAfee. It’s on within the weight room on the staff coaching advanced (whadd), or in the lounge on the fraternity home (whadd), or on the TV above the bar at Buffalo Wild Wings (whadd). It’s like background noise for dedicated sports activities followers. It’s not a lot content material as pleasant firm. His viewers aren’t watching McAfee’s progrum with targeted consideration, or for trenchant insights. They’re watching due to the simple camaraderie, as a result of he and his friends are a high quality cling, stable guys who like speaking sports activities and crushing beers.
In stark distinction with a lot of ESPN’s morning and daytime programming, with its fire-breathing takes and verbal warfare that 30 Rock as soon as lampooned with a faux present referred to as Sports activities Shouting, The Pat McAfee Present has little or no battle. Nobody’s arguing or speaking over each other or placing friends on the spot. That is absolutely a giant purpose why so many notable sports activities figures are keen to return on the present.
In April alone, McAfee hosted the ladies’s basketball phenom Caitlin Clark; the San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy; UConn’s back-to-back national-champion head coach, Dan Hurley; and Main League Baseball’s prime pitching prospect, Paul Skenes (higher identified to McAfee’s viewers as Livvy Dunne’s boyfriend). Throughout final week’s NFL Draft, McAfee provided a reminder about why he’s so precious to ESPN, reserving a pair of coveted media-averse friends: the previous New England Patriots head coach Invoice Belichick and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. They really feel snug letting down their guard round McAfee as a result of he sees athletes, coaches, and the enterprise of sports activities by means of the identical prism that they do. ESPN could also be paying his wage, however McAfee is evident about the place his loyalties lie.
Since McAfee joined ESPN, he’s given only one prolonged interview of his personal, and it was to a well-liked podcast referred to as All of the Smoke hosted by the ex-NBA gamers Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson, whom McAfee befriended throughout Jackson’s stint with the Indiana Pacers. McAfee doesn’t speak with journalists except it’s on his present and he’s the one doing the interviewing, and so they’re hardly ever invited. (He didn’t reply to my requests for an interview.) ESPN’s NFL correspondent and scoop machine Adam Schefter seems typically, and the NBA reporter Brian Windhorst has dropped by in the course of the playoffs—largely to speak in regards to the Pacers—however they’re exceptions. Nearly from the soar, the suspicions between McAfee and ESPN journalists have been mutual.
When ESPN provided McAfee that $85 million, its mum or dad firm, Disney, was within the midst of corporate-wide layoffs. ESPN was hit notably onerous. A lot of individuals obtained fired to pay for McAfee. But upon arriving, McAfee sounded damage that he didn’t get a hotter reception. Simply 4 months after becoming a member of the community, he accused ESPN executives of “actively making an attempt to sabotage” his present, and he referred to as out one among them by title, the highly effective occasion and studio manufacturing chief Norby Williamson. Williamson, McAfee mentioned reside on air, was “a rat.”
It was a shocking second—the form of public airing of grievances that ESPN is famend for not tolerating. Many previous ESPN abilities, reminiscent of Jemele Hill (now a author for The Atlantic) and Invoice Simmons, have been pushed out for much much less. And but McAfee suffered no penalties. No suspension, no public reprimand. Then, three months later, Williamson was fired. If any doubt remained about who had the facility now at ESPN—the fits or the dumb punter—it vanished together with Williamson. McAfee might seemingly get away with something, after which boast about it in public. Earlier than Williamson obtained guillotined, McAfee bristled throughout his look on All of the Smoke on the notion that he’d gone after one among his bosses: “I’m like, I don’t obtained a motherfucking boss! What are we … like, are we speaking [ESPN Chairman] Jimmy Pitaro or [Disney CEO] Bob Iger? Is that who we’re speaking about? As a result of these are individuals who might technically be described as my boss.”
No relationship, although, higher crystallizes the rising enmity between McAfee and ESPN’s information division than his continued indulgence of his good good friend, the New York Jets quarterback, defiant anti-vaxxer, ayahuasca fanatic—and, for a quick second, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s rumored operating mate—Aaron Rodgers.
On October 23, 2023, throughout one among his weekly appearances on The Pat McAfee Present, Rodgers took a veiled shot on the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs tight finish Travis Kelce, referring to Kelce as “Mr. Pfizer” for his participation in an consciousness marketing campaign urging individuals to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID. McAfee made positive to notice on air that he was vaccinated, an implicit rejection of Rodgers’s place, however he didn’t problem his good friend about it and he expressed shock afterward that anybody anticipated him to. That’s not the road of labor he’s in, of us. He was simply kibbitzing along with his freethinking good friend.
Then on January 2, 2024, Rodgers shared on McAfee’s present a slanderous rumor in regards to the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel and Jeffrey Epstein that deserves no repeating right here. Kimmel’s present airs on ABC, which, like ESPN, is owned by Disney, which means that McAfee had let his buddy use his platform to smear a co-worker. Kimmel responded angrily on X, calling Rodgers “a soft-brained wacko” and threatening to sue. This time, even McAfee appeared to know that Rodgers had gone too far. Later that day, he met with the one two individuals at Disney he acknowledges as authority figures, Jimmy Pitaro and Bob Iger, then expressed contrition throughout his broadcast the subsequent day. He chalked it as much as “shit speak” gone awry and added, “We apologize for being a part of it.”
As soon as once more, there was no evident self-discipline for McAfee. And per week later, Rodgers was proper again on the present for his common look, throughout which the quarterback notably did not apologize to Kimmel. (The following day, McAfee introduced that Rodgers wouldn’t return to this system for the rest of the NFL season, however nobody significantly doubts that he’ll be again earlier than the autumn.)
Two months later, CNN reported that Rodgers had, in non-public conversations, expressed suspicions that the bloodbath at Sandy Hook Elementary Faculty was a authorities inside job. After Rodgers tweeted a denial—“I’m not and have by no means been of the opinion that the occasions didn’t happen”—McAfee learn it aloud on his present. “I’m blissful to listen to that,” McAfee mentioned. “That’s excellent news.” Anybody anticipating McAfee to denounce his good friend ought to’ve identified higher by then.
On All of the Smoke, after the Kimmel smear however earlier than the Sandy Hook nonsense, McAfee shared that he’d misplaced sleep over his position within the Rodgers saga, saying, “Possibly I’m fucking this up utterly.” However he additionally provided a novel protection, which is that his relationship with Rodgers had enabled him to tease out a extra sincere and full portrait of a historic determine in sports activities. “At any time when there’s documentaries made about Aaron Rodgers, they’re going to use a lot of our present,” he mentioned. “Is that not journalism?”
No. It’s not. Journalism requires an energetic pursuit of the reality. This was extra like stepping on a rake. He’s not utterly improper, although. We are able to debate perpetually the ethics of platforming public figures who say odious issues, but it surely’s additionally true that Rodgers was thought-about among the many extra considerate, intellectually curious stars within the NFL. And now, thanks in no small measure to The Pat McAfee Present, we’ve heard sufficient of his self-satisfied, moronic bloviating to know higher.
April 5 had all of the makings of a triumphant day for McAfee: Williamson had been fired within the morning, and the present could be broadcasting reside from Lincoln Monetary Area in Philadelphia, web site of that weekend’s WrestleMania XL. Borrowing from the School GameDay script, McAfee likes to take his present on the highway, and wherever he goes, he’s greeted by a brigade of followers packed behind his broadcast platform like thick stogies. Today, a minimum of 20 % of them had faux championship belts slung over their shoulders like they have been Triple H. You possibly can swap any of them for Boston Connor, and nobody would discover for an hour, together with Pat. “Mac-uh-fee!” they chanted. “Mac-uh-fee! Mac-uh-fee!”
Immediately, although, one thing went improper. To viewers at dwelling, nothing appeared amiss, however inside the world, the sound wasn’t working. The followers couldn’t hear something. McAfee didn’t understand till sound technicians began scrambling behind the rostrum, frantically working to rectify the scenario. Now the gang started a brand new chant: “We wish audio system! We wish audio system!” Minutes of airtime handed. McAfee’s temper soured. “Clearly a large week in Philadelphia—we’ve obtained all these individuals observing us, can’t hear a rattling factor we’re saying,” he mentioned. “One of the uncomfortable conditions I’ve ever been positioned in in my total life proper now.” Each time he tried to maneuver ahead with the present, the gang would minimize him off and begin chanting once more, and now they have been getting salty. “Bulllll-shiiiit! Bullll-shiiiit! Bulllshiiiit!”
On TV, you may see the panic bleed into McAfee’s eyes because it dawned on him how dangerous this might get. This was a three-hour broadcast. In the event that they began bringing out WWE legends and the sound nonetheless wasn’t mounted—of us, this was a wrestling crowd in Philadelphia. They’d completely activate him. The scenario required McAfee and his Poisonous Desk to do one thing they have been deeply ill-prepared for: be tv professionals. Purchase time. Improvise.
As an alternative, McAfee and his panelists exchanged small speak for some time like they have been ready for an elevator to reach. Apropos of nothing, Pat congratulated two crew members named Nick and Carly, who’d apparently simply had a child, and led the panel in a spherical of applause for them. A producer handed a cell microphone to Boston Connor and instructed him to go interview followers, however Connor doesn’t actually understand how to try this, so as an alternative he approached somebody dressed because the WWE star Cody Rhodes and, unprovoked, referred to as him a “crybaby bitch.”
Something can occur on reside tv, because the cliché goes, which is why TV professionals at all times have a plan B. McAfee, although, barely has a plan A. Even on its higher days, his present is slapdash to the purpose that it looks like an act of defiance, like a noogie to the heads of all these fits in Bristol. (“We don’t actually wish to plan or suppose issues out,” McAfee says typically.) Lastly, after greater than half-hour, the sound within the enviornment obtained mounted. McAfee, champion of the working man, led the panel in one other spherical of applause: “Huge shout-out to the Philadelphia union for coming by means of,” he mentioned. He hinted that it should have been the fits, who have been at all times out to get him, who’d screwed up. “Hey, I come from Pittsburgh. Imagine me, I very a lot perceive your complete strategy of your complete factor.” No matter had gone improper, dysfunction was now restored.
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