Pat McAfee is undoubtedly one of the most popular figures in all of sports media.
He’s also one of the most polarizing – especially when it comes to his involvement in the college football world.
Last year, McAfee joined ESPN’s ultra-popular “College GameDay” show as a full-time member and helped guide the program to record ratings.
While some old-school college football fans are turned off by McAfee’s shtick, the numbers don’t lie … He’s been an enormous success for the show.
Interestingly, McAfee’s future on the show is currently in doubt.
He’s publicly stated that he’s yet to sign-on for the upcoming 2024 season. While he verbally committed to continuing, he’s also tiptoed around the idea of letting the show go on without him.
He’s made it clear that he’s well-aware of all the criticism that surrounds his involvement in the college football world.
He’s also made it clear how much he respects the sport and how big of an honor it is to serve on the prestigious program.
But how does ESPN feel about the situation??? … Well, the fact of the matter is the company absolutely loves McAfee, and for good reason.
In an interview with Andrew Marchand of The Athletic, ESPN’s President of Content, Burke Magnus, expressed confidence that McAfee will continue to be a part of College GameDay going forward.
“Yeah, I presume he will. What (Andrew) reported is technically true relative to ink on a piece of paper,” Magnus said of McAfee being unsigned.
“But as you know in our world, it’s a fairly common situation to have reached an agreement without an executed contract or piece of paper.”
Magnus suggested that the situation might simply reflect McAfee’s personality and approach. (Nevermind the fact that McAfee holds all the leverage in negotiations.)
“I think from time to time Pat likes to just muse on what he may or may not want to do,” Magnus said.
“We’re not in the business of handcuffing anybody to a table. This is not unique to Pat. If somebody comes to us and says, ‘Hey, I’d rather do this or that instead of that,’ we’ll listen and have those conversations.
“But Pat I expect to be there on ‘College GameDay.’”
It’s hard to imagine McAfee not ultimately putting pen to paper and officially securing his spot on GameDay going forward.
One of his best friends is the long-time leading voice on the show, Kirk Herbstreit, who famously stated that the day McAfee leaves the show will be the day that he does as well. (Although that’s even harder to imagine happening.)
Regardless, with FOX’s competing pregame show – “Big Noon Kickoff” – picking up steam in the ratings race, you can expect GameDay to be better than ever this coming season.
Speaking of which, the legendary Nick Saban will be officially joining the show when “Week 0” kicks-off in Dublin, Ireland on August 24th. (He will be much better than what some doubters think.)
What are your thoughts on the McAfee situation?
More importantly, what are your thoughts on McAfee in general? … Are you one of his many fans? Or do you despise his style?
Do you think it’s only a matter of time before McAfee signs a deal to stay on with GameDay? … Or do you think he’s had enough and will walk away?
On that note, which pregame show do you prefer: GameDay or Big Noon Kickoff???