Pat McAfee is going to make ESPN a boatload of money, and in return, ESPN is going to pay Pat McAfee a boatload of money.
In the words of the great Bo Burnham, that is how the world works.
So the uproar from media members inside and outside Bristol over his hiring while ESPN is undergoing mass layoffs is ridiculous.
The opportunity to hire someone like McAfee — both from a talent and popularity standpoint — does not come around often. ESPN would have been absolutely bananas to pass on the chance to acquire his services. It would have been an even dumber decision to do it because of the layoffs.
It’s a pretty simple equation: The Walt Disney Company would only do a deal with McAfee if it felt like it could get an ample return on its investment. And what happened?
The right decision was made. Does it suck that there are people inside the company that will lose their jobs over the course of the following days, weeks, and months? Yes, unequivocally, no questions asked.
But they’re not losing their jobs because the company is hiring Pat McAfee, and they likely wouldn’t have kept those jobs if he signed elsewhere. The idea that because McAfee is coming on board meant that an additional department was going to be affected by the layoffs is asinine.
Listen, The Walt Disney Company decided it was going to cut 7,000 jobs a long time ago. Chances are, they decided which 7,000 jobs were going to be cut at about the same time, and those poor souls are working on borrowed time. The hiring of McAfee didn’t turn that number to 7,001.
Earlier this year, Demetri Ravanos wrote a column echoing a similar sentiment. He was right then and is still right today. ESPN is going to spend billions of dollars on the NBA, and that’s ok, too.
ESPN can’t simply reduce its programming because The Walt Disney Company is going to be a bit more frugal going forward. Does ESPN need to be slightly more economical and also efficient? Hell yeah. But they’re still going to be the Worldwide Leader, baby.
And part of carrying that moniker is signing high-profile, once-in-a-generation talent that will drive hundreds of thousands — millions? — of viewers to your network daily.
The hiring of Pat McAfee amid mass layoffs, while unfortunate, are two separate issues. The pearl-clutching needs to stop. It was the best deal for McAfee and the company. Ultimately, the success of his show could create jobs down the line, not take them away.
Do the optics stink? Sure. But bring yourself back to reality and recognize that ESPN still has a business to run, as crass, cruel, and unnecessary as that may seem.
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
