Is Pat McAfee a hall of famer? He could be. The punter turned media personality found out on his show on Tuesday that he is among the 129 modern-era nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2023 class.
“I do not deserve that,” he said Tuesday as he read his name on a list of special teams players being considered. “I did not play long enough to deserve that. How did that even happen?”
Pat McAfee said all of the right things when he could speak. Mostly though, the former Indianapolis Colt was left speechless by the recognition.
He called his inclusion on the list “an absolute joke.” He encouraged voters to instead support Shane Lechler, who spent 18 seasons in the NFL punting for the Raiders and the Texans. This is the first year he is on the ballot.
“Don’t vote me in, but this is cool to even be acknowledged,” McAfee said. “Did not play long enough. Did not have a big enough contribution to the game, but I’m lucky enough to cover the game every day since then and if any of these people go in that are representing special teams, I will be f***ing pumped about this, but this is something I could have never expected.”
McAfee added that he knows he will be the subject of debate for a lot of people when they see the list. He has done the same thing to other nominees in the past. This is the first time he has been able to see the debate about a player from the player’s point of view.
“This is an interesting thing now, because I have judged this type of situation and others in the past. I’ve wondered ‘Did he actually or is it because he’s popular person in the thing?’. Whatever the case, it’s cool to be on this side of it all.”
The list of 129 nominees will not be cut down significantly. Only 25 players will be made semi-finalists. They will be announced in November. Finalists will be announced in January. Only 15 players will receive that honor.
