Ex-NFL punter Pat McAfee is experiencing a year of significant transitions. Not only did he become a father for the first time with the birth of his first child, but his career as the presenter of the Pat McAfee program is also undergoing change.
After walking away from his four-year, $120 million FanDuel contract, McAfee signed a $85 million agreement with sports network ESPN to bring his program to ESPN, ESPN+, and YouTube.
Although McAfee will be eager to begin his new voyage with the network, many fans were not pleased with the 36-year-old’s decision. And there are numerous causes for these admirers’ negative responses to the arrangement.
Now, in a recent interview, McAfee addressed these criticisms and discussed the likely cause of these supporters’ negative reaction to his transition.
Pat McAfee addresses the criticisms head-on.
During a recent episode of the SI Podcast, the former NFL punter appeared alongside presenter Jimmy Traina. During the interview, Traina expressed his astonishment at the amount of negative feedback McAfee received after agreeing to sign with ESPN.
Traina then inquired about his overall impressions of the circumstance. Pat McAfee responded to people’s negative reaction by stating that “people are just afraid” that ESPN will assume creative control of the program and “diminish sports.”
Further discussing his experience, McAfee urged individuals to “have a little more faith” in them. McAfee stated, “However, we lack the ability to do so. As if I’m not accomplished enough to stand on a table for something I don’t believe in, as some sports media may have become.
For us, it’s just like let’s chat. Let’s find out about these individuals.” He continued by stating that he will not “reprimand” people for their views and opinions. McAfee explains that his vision is to discuss sports personalities for the benefit of the viewers’ understanding of the sports world.