Pat McAfee is on the move.
The punter-turned-pundit is headed to ESPN, agreeing to a multi-year deal Tuesday with the Worldwide Leader in Sports.
McAfee's move comes a little less than two years after inking a four-year, $120 million contract with FanDuel. It appears he's ready to step away from his agreement with the sports betting company. The New York Post's Andrew Marchand noted that McAfee has said that he wants to delineate some of the behind-the-scenes responsibilities of his popular program, "The Pat McAfee Show," which airs on YouTube.
According to ESPN:
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.
The 36-year-old has already been a fixture on ESPN programming, appearing numerous times on "College Gameday." However, it seems he has loftier ambitions, with his show — which regularly draws hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube — expected to move to ESPN in some capacity. As it stands, episodes can span three or so hours. Per Marchand, the plan is to air portions of those episodes as ESPN programming.
Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, it's believed that McAfee will earn at least eight figures per year as a result of the deal, Marchand reported.
McAfee took to Twitter to make the official announcement on Tuesday.
Hello beautiful people...
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 16, 2023
We appreciate and love you all.. together we've truly changed the game.
🗣🗣 #UpToSomethingSZN UPDATE: pic.twitter.com/Yv8SpyNH0E
Why is Pat McAfee moving to ESPN?
As one of the bulwarks of the anti-establishment sports media sphere, McAfee represents an interesting case study in just what audiences want to hear. His brash persona and unwillingness to censor opinions have made him quite the personality. He's leaned into that in recent years, embracing the sort of Barstool optics that have come to capture much of the country's viewing habits.
McAfee used his show as a conduit to build relationships with other high-profile brands. The ploy proved effective; McAfee cemented his place in endorsement lore, building connections with DAZN, Sirius XM and Westwood One alongside his gaudy contract with FanDuel.
His FanDuel deal offered McAfee financial security. But the gambling company doesn't have the latitude of Disney-owned ESPN.
McAfee has been adamant that he had no plans to cede creative control of his content if he were to take his talents to the famed sports network.
MORE: ESPN lands Pat McAfee following host's FanDuel contract departure
“That is something that is non-negotiable," McAfee said. "We ain't changing."
It seems he'll get his wish. Marchand reported that McAfee will likely bring his crew with him, including former Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk.
He'll feature on ESPN, ESPN+ and ESPN's YouTube channel, pushing his content to millions who may have otherwise not engaged.
Marchand wrote that McAfee may receive less money per year than he did with FanDuel. However, the prospect of being backed by one of sport's truly preeminent brands — and everything that comes with — looks to have been too alluring to pass up.
Pat McAfee net worth
Per Celebrity Net Worth, McAfee is worth a cool $30 million. Much of that stems from his playing career; McAfee netted a little more than $15 million during his eight years in Indianapolis.
Since his retirement, McAfee has kept up with appearances, featuring on a number of programs, including WWE NXT and College GameDay. His podcast, "The Pat McAfee Show" is among the most popular in all of sports media, regularly drawing hundreds of thousands of viewers. He's secured interviews with sporting royalty, namely Aaron Rodgers, who frequented the pod regularly towards the end of his Packers tenure.