Pat McAfee was surprised by fan reaction to his ESPN move
The ever-popular Pat McAfee show was purchased by ESPN in a multi-million dollar deal earlier this week, yet the former NFL punter has been surprised with the reaction of some of his die-hard fans.
Many fans believe that McAfee has given in to the establishment so to speak. Fans have made their voices known on social media — a place he has tried to avoid in recent days. Now, he’s unexpectedly having to convince his fans that this move will be a positive one.
“It’s been tough to go over the mentions,” McAfee said on Thursday’s episode of The Pat McAfee Show, via Awful Announcing. “It has been tough out there. I don’t think I expected that. That was a miscalculation. … I think the reason I didn’t expect it is because it didn’t even cross my mind. … I feel like our people are the ones that were most mad. It’s like, ‘Hey, we have a good history, do we not?’”
McAfee’s move to ESPN will see him walk away from his $120 million deal with FanDuel Sports. However, no exact number has been released regarding the show’s new value as of this report. One would assume that McAfee is earning a substantial pay increase with the new blockbuster deal.
The current version of PMS airs on YouTube and the new one is expected to as well, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post. However, a portion of it could also reportedly start airing on ESPN with the show moving over to the network.
McAfee, the former West Virginia specialist, and ESPN have some history, as McAfee joined ESPN’s College GameDay alongside Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Desmond Howard, and Rece Davis midway through this past season. Not all of it is positive, though, as in 2021 when ESPN once banned any of its insiders or employees from appearing on shows ran by opposing media companies — including The Pat McAfee Show.
He has assured his fans that nothing will change after his show moves to ESPN. McAfee will reportedly bring close friend and co-host A.J. Hawk and the rest of his current crew over with him to the network.
The biggest change McAfee expects — a bit less F-bombs, but that’s about it. Still, McAfee has been disgusted with some of the nasty comments fans have been leaving him, and has asked his fans for patience while they move to the biggest sports network in the world.