Pat McAfee has been no stranger to creating controversy with certain members of management at ESPN. The wildly popular host of The Pat McAfee Show is in nearing entering the third year of a reported five-year licensing agreement with the network which simulcasts his program on ESPN from 12pm-2pm.
Following the news of ESPN and the WWE coming to terms on a five-year agreement to house the wrestling company’s premium live events on the new ESPN direct-to-consumer platform beginning next year, McAfee shared his thoughts via his X social media account taking aim at some unnamed suits at the network.
“Great to see two powerhouses of sports and entertainment come together,” tweeted McAfee. “I assume all the mid level, powerless, bum ass suits at ESPN will attempt to muddy this somehow (out of context leaks/ignorant anonymous opinions/etc.) but, in the end.. this agreement will outlive the dinosaurs currently guarding desks in Bristol and this deal will be great for ESPN.”
McAfee also appears on “College GameDay” during college football season for ESPN and has also had multiple stints serving as a commentator for WWE. He most recently partnered up with Michael Cole at the broadcast table for “Raw” on Monday nights, but recently stepped away from his announcing duties in June due to mental exhaustion.
The former Colts punter has stirred the pot previously with ESPN management. McAfee took aim at former ESPN executive Norby Williamson for what McAfee called a “sabotage” of his program. Williamson then exited ESPN in April of 2024. McAfee has also took shots when he believed certain members of ESPN management didn’t want ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania to be “the guy” for the network’s NBA coverage.
McAfee’s program has not aired since last Thursday with the NFL training camps and preseason underway.
Under the agreement announced Wednesday, ESPN will become the exclusive U.S. home for 10 of WWE’s top events. Among those events include WrestleMania, SummerSlam, Royal Rumble, and Survivor Series. The deal contains rights to air pre- and post-event programming. It also leaves the door open for select events to be simulcast on ESPN’s linear platforms.
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