ESPN brought part of its new daily programming lineup to Boulder, Colo. ahead of the Colorado Buffaloes Week 3 matchup against Colorado State, which will be televised live on ESPN tomorrow at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST. From head coach Deion Sanders to star quarterback Shadeur Sanders and standout two-way player Travis Hunter, the network welcomed various members of the team on its programs. Additionally, Pat McAfee and Stephen A. Smith joined each other’s shows, with McAfee starting his First Take guest spot after being regaled by cheers from the extensive crowd.
As McAfee took the stage and situated himself behind the desk with Stephen A. Smith and Shannon Sharpe, show host Molly Qerim asked if he was enjoying the early days of having his show on ESPN. McAfee inked a multiyear, multi-million dollar licensing deal that provides ESPN with 235 episodes of The Pat McAfee Show available on linear and digital platforms.
McAfee also continues to remain a member of College GameDay and has been bringing his program to the host city each week. While he was able to use explicit language freely on YouTube, he is prohibited from doing so on ESPN and thus has an active censor making sure nothing slips through the cracks. In the last week though, he has accidentally neglected these parameters.
“I’m enjoying the hell out of it,” McAfee answered. “You know I dropped two F-bombs on ESPN over the last six days.”
Qerim continued the conversation by asking him how ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro felt about the matter. Pitaro, along with The Walt Disney Company’s chief executive officer, Bob Iger, and ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus met and recruited McAfee to bring his program to ESPN. In the end, he divulged that the show had four to five major offers, but ultimately decided to settle with ESPN, who he had been working with on College GameDay in the year prior.
“I got a text; I did get a text,” McAfee said, referring to a message from Pitaro. “I’ve got a meeting with Bob Iger actually next week. There’s a whole conversation to take place, but I’m loving it. The ESPN people are so kind and friendly and hospitable.”
Sharpe, who made his ESPN debut last week and taking part in an on-site edition of First Take for the first time this year, concurred with McAfee and has enjoyed his time with the “Worldwide Leader.” The program has a disclaimer that is placed on the screen before each show, referencing “cuss words” as the way “humans in the real world talk.” The authenticity he brings to the air is greatly valued and encompasses who he is as a sports media talent; however, he might need to be more careful going forward. Nonetheless, McAfee wants to continue augmenting the reach and relevancy of his afternoon program and is excited to be with ESPN.
Before the conversation turned to football, though, McAfee made mention of the ratings First Take has been receiving recently, which are under increased scrutiny because of the return of Undisputed on FOX Sports 1 following a two-month hiatus. Smith himself re-posted an article from Front Office Sports on X about the show’s position with Undisputed despite the latter only being back on the air for three days at the time.
The ESPN featured commentator has spoken about his competitive drive on numerous occasions, but also conveyed that he does not see it as a battle against former co-host Skip Bayless. On live television though, Smith displayed his self-efficacy and gratitude towards the early head-to-head success.
“That’s what we do,” Smith said. “That’s ‘we’ baby, that’s ‘we.’ All of us.”
