As names of ESPN on-screen personalities being laid off by the network became known on Friday, Pat McAfee found himself in the crosshairs on social media.
McAfee recently announced he would be joining The Worldwide Leader, making his daily sports talk show a regular part of the network. His contract is believed to pay around $17 million a year.
Still, social media had plenty to say about the fact that ESPN opened up the wallet to pay McAfee while also eliminating jobs across the network in a cost-cutting measure.
McAfee on Friday night tweeted out a statement saying it’s his hope that the network won’t have to make more of these hard decisions in the future.
“We’re very pumped to be joining ESPN and our goal is that ‘Mass exits’ are never a thing again,” McAfee said. “We hope to help that.. obviously that’s a lofty goal but, that’s how I truly look at life.”
Pat said he wishes he could’ve had a chance to work with some of the familiar names that were let go. But the fact that they lost their jobs sucks in Pat’s eyes.
McAfee at the end did say ultimately he’s focused on his program and making it the best it can possibly be.
“We’re gonna continue to control the things we can control.. try to do daily sports coverage in an entertaining and informative fashion.. and be thankful for all of the opportunities that have been earned thru a lot of hard work and commitment from the group of dudes I get to call coworkers,” McAfee said.
