Netflix has made no secret about it. The streaming giant wants live event content. Over the past several years, the company has invested in live events involving boxing, MMA, WWE, MLB, the NFL, and others. They even backed a production centered on a man climbing a skyscraper in Taiwan. Now, the company is entering a new content vertical: live radio programming.
Yesterday, Netflix and iHeartMedia expanded their current podcasting agreement by licensing the live video presentation of The Breakfast Club on Netflix beginning June 1. For Netflix, this marks its first venture into live weekday programming. For a company positioning itself heavily in the live event space while adding live weekday content to its platform, could Pat McAfee be next on Netflix’s target list?
Despite the headlines McAfee creates on and off the screen, his persona commands attention.
The former Colts punter has turned himself into one of sports media’s most dynamic and versatile personalities. He helped College GameDay transition away from Lee Corso and elevated WWE’s profile with ESPN. He has also curried favor with nearly every commissioner and athlete imaginable, making his program destination viewing that leagues and personalities battle to appear on.
When McAfee signed his agreement in 2023, ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro called his show one of the most engaging programs in sports and all of media. He wasn’t wrong. Everything McAfee touches seems to draw more attention than almost anything else in sports. I recall speaking with ESPN NFL analyst Peter Schrager about the McAfee effect on sports.
“The genius of Pat McAfee is taking something that feels very serious, urgent, and newsworthy and making it fun,” said Schrager.
Connecting The Dots
McAfee’s contract with ESPN runs through 2028. That’s now less than two years away, with McAfee positioned to cash in again if he chooses. That’s why Netflix’s announcement involving The Breakfast Club feels like just the first step in what could become a larger pursuit of McAfee by the streaming giant.
A couple of factors are worth considering.
Netflix already has live event agreements with several companies. One of those companies is TKO Holdings, which owns WWE, UFC, and Zuffa Boxing, among others. Ari Emanuel serves as CEO of TKO Holdings and helped architect TKO’s agreement with Netflix for WWE Raw back in 2025.
It just so happens that Emanuel also represents McAfee as his agent. Put those pieces together, and you have yourself quite a story.
However, Netflix had not tested the live weekday programming model until now.
Benefits To Both?
McAfee signed with ESPN for a reported $85 million over five years. According to Yahoo Sports, the show generated one billion total social media views in September 2025 alone, while averaging 447,000 live viewers per episode. That represented an 18% year-over-year increase and pushed the show to its most-watched year on ESPN.
McAfee’s show is a juggernaut of content, attention, reach, and engagement that no other ESPN program comes close to matching. In 2025, ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus acknowledged that reality.
“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,” said Magnus.
Netflix’s announcement on Thursday may have just increased McAfee’s chances of departing ESPN when his agreement expires in 2028. But can ESPN retain McAfee’s services beyond that point?
It would be difficult to argue that ESPN’s budget could compete with Netflix’s financial power in a bidding war for McAfee and his program. Netflix could easily outbid ESPN and Disney while also making McAfee’s show more global in reach through the audience the platform commands.
Teaming with Netflix could also create additional opportunities for McAfee in Hollywood. With Netflix funding major motion picture productions, McAfee would almost certainly become a candidate for entertainment roles that ESPN simply cannot provide. Emanuel has even stated that he envisions McAfee as the next Sylvester Stallone. A move to Netflix would likely create more avenues for that vision to materialize.
Would McAfee’s guest list become more limited with a move to Netflix? Since the streaming platform already does business with MLB and the NFL, probably not. The likelihood of ESPN talent appearing at a moment’s notice could change. But it’s difficult to imagine personalities such as Adam Schefter or Shams Charania disappearing entirely from the program.
A move to Netflix could even strengthen McAfee’s relationship with WWE, one of his personal passions. Could there be more WWE content involving McAfee’s production company? Or perhaps an expanded role with TKO Holdings based on the business relationships McAfee has helped cultivate between ESPN and Netflix?
Can ESPN Retain McAfee?
Make no mistake, this may become the single biggest challenge facing new ESPN EVP, Executive Editor, Sports News and Entertainment Mike Foss during the early stages of his tenure. While Foss won’t be alone in any discussions with McAfee, his new role will certainly be heavily involved in it. Mike Foss has played a key role in overseeing The Pat McAfee Show since its ESPN debut nearly three years ago. By all accounts, Foss has built a strong working relationship with Pat McAfee. He has done so by trusting McAfee’s instincts, offering feedback, and helping navigate criticism and controversy.
Now that the contract has entered its final two-year window, the next several months could become very interesting for ESPN and Pat McAfee. If Netflix’s live arrangement with The Breakfast Club succeeds like its podcast partnership has, the streaming giant will almost certainly pursue more opportunities in the space.
There is no daily studio show or sports radio program that commands more attention than Pat McAfee’s platform. The connections involved are substantial enough that a move to Netflix makes legitimate sense for both McAfee and the company.
That’s why Netflix entering the live daily programming space matters so much.
The company is no longer simply chasing events. It is chasing habit-forming personalities that audiences build their days around. Pat McAfee checks every box. He delivers sports, entertainment, controversy, virality, and cultural relevance in one package. Exactly the type of talent streaming platforms covet as they continue redefining television.
Whether McAfee ultimately stays with ESPN or eventually jumps to Netflix, one thing already feels certain.
Thursday’s announcement involving The Breakfast Club was not just about adding another program to Netflix’s library. It was a test case for something much bigger. And if the experiment succeeds, don’t be surprised if the most important personality in sports media suddenly becomes the face of Netflix’s live daytime future.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
