Pat McAfee has made yet another major announcement about his show.
McAfee revealed on Tuesday that “The Pat McAfee Show” is moving to ESPN beginning this fall. The show, which had previously been independent, will be broadcast on ESPN, the ESPN+ streaming service, and ESPN’s YouTube channel. McAfee said keeping the show on YouTube was a “sticking point” for him in negotiations, since he has always promised viewers and listeners it would remain free.
By joining ESPN, McAfee will walk away from a deal with FanDuel that pays him $30 million per year and $120 million overall. That deal allowed “The Pat McAfee Show” to remain independent, with FanDuel serving as the brand’s primary sponsor.
McAfee, 36, vowed in his Tuesday announcement that he “ain’t changing a damn thing.” He said he received offers from four different networks/platforms and represented himself in negotiations. He insisted that ESPN is committed to not changing the show, though McAfee admitted there will be less cursing.
“What I realized during these negotiations is that our show is what a lot of these suit folks are now viewing as the future of daily sports talk,” McAfee said. “I think that’s a really cool thing. A few years back, none of these networks would even give me a meeting. Now, we’re the tip of the spear of what sports media needs to be in its next chapter.”
You can listen to the full announcement below:
Hello beautiful people…
We appreciate and love you all.. together we've truly changed the game.
#UpToSomethingSZN UPDATE: pic.twitter.com/Yv8SpyNH0E
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) May 16, 2023
McAfee, a former NFL punter, previously left Barstool Sports to run “The Pat McAfee Show” on his own. In addition to hosting his show during the week, he has a contract with WWE and appears on ESPN as an analyst for “College GameDay.”
Just last year, McAfee left SiriusXM, which had been airing his radio show.
