Pat McAfee confirms he's leaving FanDuel to join ESPN full time
McAfee promised he won't be changing 'a damn thing' as the show heads to daytime TV
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The show will also continue with its eccentric interviews, including Aaron Rodgers every Tuesday.
"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.’"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.