Pat McAfee joining ESPN in multimillion-dollar blockbuster

“The Pat McAfee Show” is moving to ESPN in a multimillion-dollar deal that is expected to begin in the fall, The Post has learned.

In the process, it appears as if McAfee will walk away from his four-year, $120 million contract with FanDuel.

He is in the second year of the agreement.

The amount ESPN will pay McAfee is not fully known, but it is more than eight figures per year, according to sources.

The move comes with Disney in the midst of layoffs in which 7,000 jobs will be eliminated, including some at ESPN.

After The Post broke the story online, McAfee, 36, appeared at Disney upfronts on Tuesday

While McAfee is already a regular on ESPN’s “College GameDay” and does college football alt-broadcasts with Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions for ESPN, his YouTube show is more free-wheeling, including liberal use of the f-word.

McAfee said his show now will limit its use of the word.

McAfee’s program, which formerly included the FanDuel logo in the upper corner of the screen during the show, had grown in popularity by streaming on YouTube.

ESPN and McAfee said that all three hours of his show will remain on YouTube and will also appear on ESPN and ESPN+.

ESPN executives had vowed to only work out a deal if they thought it would make money for the company.

When The Post reported last week that ESPN had emerged as the favorites for his services, McAfee said on his show that he is too dumb to change in response to some of his fans’ concerns about Mickey Mouse sanitizing the language and the vibe of McAfee and his crew.

If McAfee does have full control, it may indicate that the Disney deal is some sort of licensing agreement.

McAfee is expected to bring his crew with him.

That includes former Pro Bowl linebacker A.J. Hawk and several of his longtime friends, who are on-air presences for the program.

McAfee has had a meteoric rise in sports media after he walked away from millions as a Pro Bowl and All-Pro punter for the Colts following the 2016 season.

In just seven years, McAfee has found a lot of success and a lot of employers, beginning with Barstool Sports.

He has had working relationships with ESPN, Fox, DAZN, SiriusXM, Westwood One and, in his biggest deal, with FanDuel.

McAfee has said he wanted to take the burden of the behind-the-scenes work off his plate. Because he owned his own company, McAfee had to deal with all the business decisions.

The ESPN partnership should alleviate that pressure. McAfee and his wife just recently had a baby girl together.

McAfee has been an insurgent sports media force, using the levers of social media and YouTube to build an empire that resulted in the FanDuel deal.

He is now on to the next big thing, a 43-year-old company that has billed itself as “The Worldwide Leader in Sports,” but wants to appeal to a younger generation.

The move instantly becomes one of the biggest sports media stories of the year.

Pat McAfee confirms he's leaving FanDuel to join ESPN full time

Pat McAfee confirmed all the rumors on Tuesday, announcing that his "The Pat McAfee Show" will be moving full-time to ESPN. 

McAfee is leaving halfway through his $120 million deal with FanDuel TV, which was a four-year contract, according to the New York Post’s Andrew Marchand. 

It’s unknown what ESPN will be paying McAfee now, but Marchand said the deal is around "eight figures" annually. 

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Pat McAfee speaks during his show on Media Row for Super Bowl LVI at the Los Angeles Convention Center Feb. 10, 2022, in Los Angeles  (Cooper Neill/Getty Images)

McAfee is taking his entire team to ESPN, and the popular show will be featured on ESPN and ESPN+ as well as the network's YouTube channel. During the announcement, McAfee said he made it a point to make the show free for everyone no matter what. 

But, for those looking to watch on ESPN, the show will be airing in the fall every day after "Get Up!" and "First Take."

The show will also continue with its eccentric interviews, including Aaron Rodgers every Tuesday.

PAT MCAFEE SEEKS DISMISSAL OF BRETT FAVRE'S DEFAMATION SUIT AGAINST HIM, ASKS QB FOR CHARITY DONATION INSTEAD

"We ain’t changing a damn thing," McAfee said in the announcement. "That was literally the starter for every conversation with everybody this ‘Up To Something Season.’"

McAfee added that "four significant offers" were made to him and his team, and ESPN, which he has known well with his appearances on "College Gameday" during the college football season, made the right offer. 

Former NFL player and host Pat McAfee speaks on radio row ahead of Super Bowl LVII at the Phoenix Convention Center Feb. 9, 2023, in Phoenix, Ariz.  (Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

He also noted that networks and platforms believe that the show is the "future of sports talk," according to McAfee. 

While he isn’t changing a thing, McAfee said he and his team will have to watch their language a bit as they move to daytime television. The F-word will not be said "nearly as much, but every other word is good to go."

McAfee’s popularity in sports media has grown since he left the NFL as a punter with the Indianapolis Colts at 29 years old to pursue a career in the industry. McAfee had made his second Pro Bowl in his eight-year career in 2016, but he believed his calling was elsewhere. 

ESPN's Pat McAfee during the Georgia Bulldogs' game against the TCU Horned Frogs in the College Football Playoff national championship game Jan. 9, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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He bet on himself, and it’s clearly worked out to this point.  

Scott Thompson is a sports writer for Fox News Digital.

Pat McAfee leaving $120M FanDuel contract behind to join ESPN

Pat McAfee is a hot commodity in sports media. (Kirby Lee/Reuters)

Pat McAfee is leaving FanDuel for ESPN.

McAfee confirmed the news Tuesday after a report from the New York Post's Andrew Marchand.

In doing so, he'll leave behind a four-year, $120 million contract, according to the report. The former NFL punter turned media personality was in the second year of his deal with FanDuel for "The Pat McAfee Show."

The precise value of the deal with ESPN isn't known. Marchand reports that it exceeds "eight figures" annually. McAfee is taking his crew, which includes former NFL linebacker A.J. Hawk, to ESPN with him.

The news arrives amid announced Disney layoffs of more than 7,000 employees, including some at ESPN.

McAfee's show, which features interviews with athletes and irreverent discussion of sports and news, is a hit on YouTube, where it will remain on ESPN's YouTube channel, according to McAfee. He announced that the show will also appear on ESPN and ESPN+.

McAfee also vowed to "not change a damn thing" before announcing at least one small change. The show's language is not fit for daytime TV, especially on a network owned by Disney. McAfee said in his announcement that "we have decided that we won't say f*** nearly as much, but every other word is good to go."

McAfee spent eight seasons as an NFL punter with the Indianapolis Colts from 2009 to '16. He retired from football to pursue a media career after making his second Pro Bowl at 29 years old. He worked in varying capacities with BarStool Sports, DAZN, SiriusXM, Fox and Westwood One before joining FanDuel in 2021.

He has been a contributor at ESPN throughout, including regular appearances on “College GameDay." He has also made appearances as a wrestler for WWE.

Originally published May 16, 2023 at 3:46 PM