ESPN will air a Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show AltCast during Super Bowl LXI. Before that, the concept will debut on select Monday Night Football games this season.
What We Know: McAfee announced the news Friday on The Pat McAfee Show. The first NFL edition will air during Washington Commanders at San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football October 19. Meanwhile, Dan Orlovsky joins the crew for the NFL broadcasts, while AJ Hawk stays on for the Field Pass broadcasts with the College Football Playoff. Previously, the Field Pass aired across the last two College Football Playoffs, including an Alabama-Indiana Rose Bowl telecast that averaged 2.4 million viewers.
What They Said: (all quotes via the Pat McAfee Show):
Pat McAfee on the conversations the led to a Field Pass AltCast at the Super Bowl: “One thing led to another. I got a chance to chat with the Commissioner [Roger Goodell] a couple of different times. Got a chance to explain what we would try to do. How we would try to do it. There were some articles written about it potentially happening. We have breaking news. We will officially be doing a field pass for the Super Bowl this year.”
Pat McAfee announcing full plans of the Field Pass AltCast concept expanding to Monday Night Football: “We try our best to respect the game and showcase and display it in a fashion that might be a little bit more appetizing for a different group of people that are watching alongside the best play commentators on Earth. AJ Hawk will still be with us for the college one [College Football Playoff National Championship]. Dan Orlovsky, NFL quarterback, we’re picking up for the NFL field passes. [Also], select Monday Night Football games will also be happening. Washington Commanders at San Francisco 49ers is our first one. There will be others, and then [it] obviously culminates at the Super Bowl.”
Pat McAfee was hopeful the Field Pass AltCast concept would work for the NFL product: “There was a little bit of a pipe dream that if we have a little bit of success with this field pass with college, maybe with the relationship that ESPN has with the NFL, that we could do some field passes for NFL games, Monday night football games.”
What Remains Unclear: ESPN has not announced which other Monday Night Football games will get the treatment. Likewise, the network has not said which channel will carry the Super Bowl AltCast. Earlier this year, Front Office Sports reported the idea faced some rights hurdles. It remains unclear how those hurdles were cleared, though McAfee credited talks with Commissioner Roger Goodell.
What It Means: For ESPN, the move adds a different flavor to its first-ever Super Bowl telecast. Super Bowl LXI is set for February 14, 2027, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Moreover, the concept now crosses into the NFL after proving itself in college football. Ultimately, McAfee, who also joined Monday Night Countdown this season, becomes even more central to ESPN’s NFL coverage.
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