Since Pat McAfee retired from the NFL in 2016, he's continued building up his media empire. He spent a couple of years at Barstool Sports, then left in 2018 and soon afterward, incorporated his Pat McAfee, Inc. business. The following year, he began hosting a weekday radio show on DAZN and Westwood One, and later Sirius XM.
His show, which featured regular NFL guests like Aaron Rodgers, built up such a rabid following that FanDuel offered McAfee a four-year, $120 million deal in December 2021. FanDuel was set to pay McAfee about eight times more than he made during his entire NFL career. It looked like this deal could be the start of a revolution in the broadcast industry.
Yet less than two years into the FanDuel contract, McAfee announced he was joining ESPN. His new deal? Five years, $85 million.
From the outside, it appears that McAfee is taking a pay cut to join the Worldwide Leader in Sports. But diving a little deeper, this is a smart move.
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McAfee and his wife recently welcomed a baby girl into the world. He was previously producing and handling the business aspects of his shows. Now, he can move a lot of those backend elements into ESPN's hands.
Freeing up extra time to spend with his child is worthy of a pay cut. McAfee will also have access to ESPN's production assets and team, rights to league content, and a larger platform than FanDuel was able to offer.
While McAfee and ESPN are excited about their new partnership, FanDuel hasn't addressed McAfee's decision. The former Colts punter told the New York Post that FanDuel was the exclusive sportsbook partner of his network's shows, just like SeatGeek is the exclusive ticketing partner. He said the two parties might work together in the future, but FanDuel's silence, for now, seems to suggest otherwise.
ESPN has ordered 230 episodes starting in the fall. McAfee will get the same creative input without having to worry about administrative and time-consuming tasks aside from developing content. McAfee will also keep his weekly spot as an analyst on "College Football GameDay," and ESPN says it will let him control all the aspects of his show.
A more consistent presence on ESPN will introduce McAfee to a wider audience and open up additional partnership opportunities. "The Pat McAfee Show" will air on ESPN's cable channel and will also be available on YouTube and ESPN+.
While a $35 million pay cut is not a small decrease, McAfee will be earning back more of his free time. For a new father, that's worth every potential penny lost.
