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Pat McAfee is all over ESPN.
The former punter is one of the biggest personalities on the Worldwide Leader and it appears that the network has gone all-in on his services. McAfee’s daily show, appropriately titled The Pat McAfee Show, airs on ESPN, and he is a member of the College GameDay crew.
However, it seems that his over-the-top, WWE-infused personality may be rubbing some people the wrong way.
In a recent poll conducted by The Athletic, the results show that a majority of people do not enjoy McAfee on GameDay with a whopping 48.9 percent of responses checking “Don’t like it.” Other options included “Like It” at 30.1 percent and “No Opinion” at 21 percent.
How do you feel about Pat McAfee on College GameDay? Our readers are very mixed.
"I don’t watch GameDay anymore solely because of Pat McAfee."
"I think Pat McAfee adds a great energy to GameDay and I don’t understand the hate for him at all."
More: https://t.co/S6f262MhMU pic.twitter.com/kwJqdq7PRG
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 17, 2023
After the poll and its results began making the rounds, McAfee himself chimed in. He says that he has not re-signed a contract and is not sure whether he will return next season.
“This has been brought to my attention more than a few times over the last few days… I’ve never been friends with a human that reads The Athletic, so I’m not 100% sure what style of human these 3100 folks are but… HUGE Shahtaht to the 30%.. hell yeah.
“To the 49%, I have some great news… I have heard you all very loud and clear since the beginning of my stint with GameDay. It’s one of the biggest reasons why I have not resigned a contract with the legendary show. I’m not right for some crowds and the “distinguished” College Football folks are definitely one of those.
“Excited to enjoy the rest of this year, that’s shaping up to be a GREAT one, and then see what the future holds. It’s been an absolute blast and an honor to be at that desk and to work with the fine folks of that family… it’s also been really fun to work 7 days a week for the last 2 football seasons. Nice reminder that I’m still a f–king DAWG.”
This has been brought to my attention more than a few times over the last few days.. I’ve never been friends with a human that reads The Athletic so I’m not 100% sure what style of human these 3100 folks are but..
HUGE Shahtaht to the 30%.. hell yeah.
To the 49%, I have some… https://t.co/6830cv5Pmf pic.twitter.com/MCF5daGnFa
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 22, 2023
It will be interesting to see what happens next with McAfee, but ESPN has paid a lot to have his brash personality on the network so they will have to find a way to use him one way or another.
Whether it’s on the traditional college football pre-game show remains to be seen, but it’s hard to believe they will cut ties with him completely any time soon.
