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There Are Absolutely No Issues at All With Pat McAfee Paying Aaron Rodgers for Interviews

Also in Traina Thoughts: Al Michaels makes a fantastic gambling reference; postgame interview gets awkward; costly Hail Mary and more.

Jimmy Traina

1. New York Post sports columnist (and recent SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast guest) Andrew Marchand reported Thursday that Pat McAfee pays Aaron Rodgers, “more than seven figures per year to come on the show each week.”

I was genuinely shocked by some of the reactions I saw after the story broke. I had assumed McAfee was paying Rodgers. Every athlete or coach who does weekly spots on radio or TV gets paid.

I grew up listening to WFAN, where managers and coaches and players did weekly spots and always got paid. I remember it being a big deal when it was revealed that WFAN was paying Giants quarterback Eli Manning more than six figures to get interviewed by Mike Francesa each week. 

I can guarantee you Bill Belichick gets paid by WEEI for his weekly interview.

So I would’ve been more stunned to find out McAfee wasn't paying Rodgers. However, the revelation that Rodgers was making big bucks for doing McAfee's show also led to some people clutching their pearls over "journalism."

Who on Earth considers Pat McAfee a journalist? Pat McAfee is an entertainer. Pat McAfee is not Jeremy Schaap. The Pat McAfee Show is not 60 Minutes. Who cares whether Pat McAfee pays Aaron Rodgers to tell stories about doing ayahuasca or that he wants to get traded to the Jets?

This ties into the other narrative out there that some people take issue with McAfee for not pushing back on Rodgers during his interviews. Why would anyone expect McAfee do that? That's not what his show is about. Never has been. He's doing entertainment, not journalism. It blows me away that people want to apply the strict rules of journalism to The Pat McAfee Show.

And don't say that Rodgers is being given a massive platform to amplify his statements. Rodgers already has his own massive platform. He has 4.5 million Twitter followers and 2.3 million Instagram followers. He can get out any message he wants without McAfee's help.

I’d love to hear one specific reason why Pat McAfee paying Aaron Rodgers to appear on his show each week is bad. “That’s not journalism” or “That’s not what a journalist does” are not specific reasons. I want to know exactly what the downside is of McAfee paying Rodgers. 

And don’t tell me ESPN, as a network, might go soft on Rodgers or Nick Saban, since McAfee is paying them. You know why ESPN would go soft on them? Because ESPN is in bed with the NFL and college football. Being rights partners does way more damage to the ethics of “journalism” than a former NFL punter paying a current NFL quarterback to have fun, lighthearted conversations once a week.

My takeaway from this entire saga is that Rodgers deserves credit. He's given McAfee quite a bang for his buck because every word he says on the show gets picked up and written about. The publicity Rodgers has given McAfee is worth well more than a million bucks.

2. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina podcast features a conversation with Monday Night Football's Joe Buck and Troy Aikman.

Among the topics covered: Passing John Madden and Pat Summerall as the longest-tenured network broadcast team ever in their 22nd year together, Aikman’s  relationship with Madden, why Buck will never call baseball for ESPN, Aikman’s opinion on whether the Tush Push should be banned, Tom Brady’s going to Aikman for advice on becoming a television analyst, Aikman’s philosophy for being critical of players, how Aikman would use Twitter to bust Buck’s chops and much more.

Following Buck and Aikman, Sal Licata from WFAN radio and SNY TV in New York joins me for our weekly “Traina Thoughts” segment. This week, we discuss Jerry Seinfeld teasing some sort of Seinfeld reunion regarding the series finale. Jimmy also answers reader-submitted questions in a new mailbag segment.

You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Google.

You can also watch SI Media With Jimmy Traina on YouTube.

3. Al Michaels wasn’t lying when he told me Thursday that Amazon's plan was to show Taylor Swift in moderation during the Broncos-Chiefs game. Amazon was downright tame compared to what NBC did a couple of weeks ago.

But what Michaels deserves credit for more than anything was a truly outstanding to-the-point spread since the Chiefs, as 10.5-point favorites, escaped with a 19–8 win after a late field goal.

4. When doing postgame interviews, it’s always helpful to actually ask a question. TBS’s Matt Winer learned this lesson Thursday while interviewing the Phillies’ Nick Castellanos.

Meanwhile, when it was time for Castellanos’s postgame interview on MLB Network, he was more than ready to answer a question, leaving studio host Greg Amsinger a tad flustered.

5. West Virginia was a 3.5-point favorite against Houston on Thursday. The Mountaineers led 39–35 with three seconds left, and then this happened.

6. How can anyone not love Gronk? Just the way he tells a story is great. Here he is on Ryen Russillo’s podcast talking about a memorable voicemail he received after passing on Clemson to go to Arizona.

7. RANDOM VIDEO OF THE DAY: On this date, Oct, 13, 2002, the “Pie-O-My” episode of The Sopranos aired on HBO, featuring one of the best Uncle Junior scenes in the show's history.

Be sure to catch up on past editions of Traina Thoughts and check out SI Media With Jimmy Traina on Apple, Spotify or Google. You can also follow Jimmy on Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

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Jimmy Traina
JIMMY TRAINA

Jimmy Traina is a staff writer and podcast host for Sports Illustrated. A 20-year veteran in the industry, he’s been covering the sports media landscape for seven years and writes a daily column, Traina Thoughts. Traina has hosted the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast since 2018, a show known for interviews with some of the most important and powerful people in sports media. He also was the creator and writer of SI’s Hot Clicks feature from 2007 to '13.

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