ESPN Emerges As Favorite for New Pat McAfee Deal, per Report

The former Colts punter appears poised to walk away from a contract he signed in 2021.

The Pat McAfee Show may soon be getting a new home.

ESPN is reportedly the leading candidate to broadcast the show as host Pat McAfee contemplates backing out of his current contract with FanDuel, according to a Tuesday morning report from Andrew Marchand of The New York Post.

McAfee, 36, currently appears on ESPN's College GameDay as a panelist. He started in that role in ’22 after appearing on the show as a contributor in ’19 and ’20. His flagship three-hour YouTube program, however, is contracted to FanDuel. The partnership, announced in Dec. ’21, reportedly earns McAfee $30 million per year.

In March, McAfee candidly discussed potentially walking away from the deal on his show after a report indicating he was considering such appeared in the Post.

“I got a lot going on in my life. I got a baby girl on the way. This past season there was so much stuff off the show that had to be dealt with and handled," he said. 

Referencing the recent birth of his daughter, he continued, “I always said that if I wanted to have a child, I would want to have generational wealth, because I wouldn’t want my child to have any of the stresses or anything that potentially brings into your life.”

McAfee, an All-American punter at West Virginia and a Pro Bowler with the Colts once upon a time, has navigated the changing tides of sports media to forge a fruitful career. After two years with Barstool Sports, he formed his own company in 2018, and his show is now entering its seventh season.