Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee continues to excel in his role with ESPN.
On Wednesday, ESPN announced that McAfee will join the crew on “Monday Night Countdown,” along with Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears and Jason McCourty.
McCourty replaces Ryan Clark, who was one of several layoffs by the company earlier in the summer.
ESPN is adding Pat McAfee to Monday Night Countdown as an analyst.
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) August 19, 2026
He will join Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears, and Jason McCourty on the pregame show. pic.twitter.com/q70hS9dH4v
McAfee has seen quite the rise since retiring from the NFL in February 2017. Two weeks after retiring, McAfee started “Pat McAfee Show podcast.”
McAfee then joined ESPN in 2023, and he is also a part of “College GameDay.” In June, it was reported that the two sides were working towards a contract extension that would pay McAfee $60 million per year, although official has been agreed to as of Wednesday.
After the news came of the new role, McAfee reacted on X.
Man.. I’m hoping that’s not a real photo of me BUT..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 19, 2026
‘Tis an honor to be a part of MNF in any capacity. I hope I can be an asset as we start the journey to The Biggest Super Bowl of all time in LA on ESPN and ABC
College GameDay on Saturday.. Monday Night Countdown on Monday..… https://t.co/b1xlVF6XXH
ESPN has seen a big number of changes since merging with NFL Network. Some big names, such as Clark, were laid off, as well as Cam Newton and long-time ESPN voice Karl Ravech.
NFL reporter Tom Pelissero was also let go, although he just landed a job with Netflix.
All those changes, along with McAfee’s massive contract extension being in the works, led to the ex-Colts punter getting negative criticism, which was something he acknowledged recently.
Nonetheless, ESPN continues to work with Pat McAfee, and he will be a common voice during “Monday Night Countdown” beginning this season.
