- A poll found that 48.9 percent of the show’s viewers disliked Pat McAfee
- The show also saw a decline in viewership, down four percent from the previous year
- provides the latest international sports news
Sports media personality Pat McAfee has hinted that this may be his final appearance on ESPN’s “College GameDay.”
McAfee recently responded to an answer Contributed by The Athletic It says that in a survey of 3,100 readers of the publication, 48.9 percent disliked the former Indianapolis Colts player on the show.
Only 30.1 percent said they enjoyed him on the show and 21 percent said they had no opinion on the issue.
McAfee, 36, responded to the poll in a tweet in which he addressed both the poll and his future status on the show.
“I have heard you all very loud and clear since I started working at GameDay. “This is one of the main reasons I have not re-signed with the legendary show,” McAfee wrote.
ESPN’s Pat McAfee has suggested that this could be his final season appearing on College GameDay
The former Indianapolis player refused to participate in the broadcast following backlash from fans
McAfee began appearing on the show in 2019 before taking on a full-time role in September 2022
“I’m not suited to some crowds, and the ‘respected’ college football crowd is definitely one of them.”
“It’s been a blast and an honor to sit at this desk and work with the great people in this family…” he continued.
“It’s also been really fun working seven days a week for the last two football seasons.”
McAfee previously appeared on College GameDay in 2019 before becoming one of the show’s full-time analysts in September 2022.
College GameDay also saw a decline in viewership, down four percent this year.
In 2023, the show averaged 1.956 million viewers per episode. According to The Athletic, the series averaged 2.043 million per episode in 2022.
McAfee’s post comes just months after he signed a five-year, $85 million deal with ESPN to become one of their top media personalities. This was a pay cut from his four-year, $120 million contract with FanDuel.
The network had already made McAfee a regular part of its college program, but with this year’s deal they acquired his popular Pat McAfee Show, on which New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is a regular guest.
Rodgers is paid more than $1 million a year for his weekly appearances on Pat McAfee’s ESPN show.
Before his career as a sports media personality, McAfee was a punter for the Indianapolis Colts
“Aaron certainly made over $1,000,000 from us,” McAfee confirmed to the New York Post on Wednesday.
Rodgers and Alabama coach Nick Saban are among the star-studded cast appearing on The Pat McAfee Show.
And according to the Post, the former NFL player is using money from his own $85 million, five-year contract with ESPN to bring in such high-profile guests, with Saban also reportedly being paid well.
Rodgers has been a fixture on the show every Tuesday for the past few seasons. McAfee launched his show in 2019 and it aired on YouTube before ESPN agreed to air it starting in September this year.
Pat McAfee hints this may be his final season on ‘College GameDay’ as he reveals he hasn’t re-signed his contract with the show due to fan backlash – even though he agreed to an $85 million contract with ESPN this year