Pat McAfee’s sports media ascension continues. One week after being added to ESPN’s Thursday Night College Football coverage and named a regular contributor on ESPN’s morning show ‘Get Up’, the former Indianapolis Colts punter is said to be finalizing a multiyear deal with DAZN and Westwood One for a daily two-hour show. The plan is for the program to begin airing on September 9th.
As first reported in the Hollywood Reporter, The Pat McAfee Show will launch on Westwood One in 40 markets. He will have profit participation on the radio show. DAZN will license and produce the video version of it.
“Many fans consider Pat McAfee to be the most likable sportscaster,” said Jamie Horowitz, Executive VP of content at DAZN. “He has a self-awareness that’s hard to teach. That’s why he’s beloved — because he is of the people.”
McAfee will have a full schedule to manage. He’ll host his radio show from Indianapolis Monday through Wednesday, from the city where Thursday Night’s college football game on ESPN takes place, and then from New York, on Friday where Get Up is based. Additional on location shows will be added to support DAZN’s marquis boxing and MMA cards and to appear as a contributor on the company’s nightly baseball show ChangeUp, hosted by Adnan Virk.
One extra perk for DAZN includes having McAfee create football segments for DAZN Canada and Germany. The company will also add a video version of his popular podcast which will increase to three times per week.
McAfee’s media career began to take off initially in 2017 when he signed on with Barstool Sports. He’s worked on multiple NFL games for Fox Sports and has a multiyear deal in place with the WWE where he serves as an on-air personality for WWE events.
“He’s humble, even though he’s been an elite athlete in a locker room full of elite athletes” added Westwood One’s Bruce Gilbert. “He’s just relatable to the average fan. He’s a great storyteller. And he’s a younger voice finally in sports radio.”
“We’re just trying to give people a mental vacation,” McAfee points out. “I just want people to listen to us, and escape from whatever is going on in the world. I’m in a very lucky situation, everybody hires me and just tells me we just want you to be you.”
