ESPN still has three years left on its deal with Pat McAfee, but the network’s top content executive is already planning for a longer partnership. Burke Magnus, ESPN’s president of content, said on a upcoming episode of The Sports Media Podcast he envisions McAfee remaining part of the network’s lineup well beyond the five-year, $85 million-plus licensing agreement that began in 2023.
“For sure, on an ongoing basis beyond the current relationship we have with him,” Magnus said. “No doubt about that. One hundred percent. I think his show is hitting on all cylinders. … He’s an incredible interviewer and conversationalist. There is a validation for athletes and executives to be on his show. Every commissioner wants to be on his show. Every athlete wants to be on the show. There’s a cool factor, a relevance factor. It’s fun and funny and entertaining. As we sit here today, I could not imagine our daytime schedule without his show.”
Magnus and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro have been consistent in their support for McAfee since he joined the company. That includes standing by him during controversy. Such as when McAfee amplified an unverified rumor involving an Ole Miss student last year, which he later apologized for.
McAfee signed a multi-year agreement with ESPN in 2023 to simulcast his daily talk program on the network. As part of the agreement, full content control remained with McAfee. While ESPN received 230 fully produced shows a year that it can sell advertising against.
The praise from Magnus underscores how much leverage top sports media stars hold in 2025. Personal brands often carry as much weight as the networks themselves, and McAfee represents a prime example. While McAfee’s daily show drives ESPN’s daytime schedule, Magnus also highlighted his impact on College GameDay. McAfee’s two remaining years on that contract are separate from his licensing agreement, but his contributions have proven critical.
The former NFL punter created The Pat McAfee Kicking Contest, the show’s most popular new element since Lee Corso’s iconic headgear picks. The segment has helped maintain ESPN’s advantage over Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff in the Saturday morning ratings battle.
“We navigated through what a few years ago would have been described as really perhaps the biggest transformation or change to College GameDay that you could possibly imagine, meaning Lee Corso’s retirement,” Magnus said. “I feel like the show, from a content perspective and a cast-contributor perspective, is as good as it’s ever been, and Pat is an enormous reason for that.”
Magnus pointed to the chemistry between McAfee, Nick Saban, Rece Davis, Desmond Howard, and Kirk Herbstreit as proof of the program’s stability. He added that McAfee’s weekly field goal competition and his on-air personality have become “must-see television.”
“Long story short, both his show and his work on GameDay, I’ll take that in as far into the future as you want to go,” Magnus said.
Magnus noted that ESPN management maintains regular conversations with McAfee about potential new content opportunities. He added that the network plans to release updated viewership data later this month showing significant year-over-year growth for McAfee’s program on linear television.
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