Could Aaron Rodgers have more than one triumphant comeback this NFL season? Pat McAfee seems to think so.
McAfee remains hopeful that the New York Jets quarterback will return to his hit ESPN show this season.
Rodgers had made weekly guest appearances on McAfee’s eponymous show until the end of the 2023-24 NFL regular season when comments he made about Jimmy Kimmel on the show sparked backlash.
However, McAfee, speaking at ESPN’s media day in Bristol, Connecticut, on Wednesday, teased the possibility of the four-time MVP resuming his longtime appearances on Tuesdays.
“I think it’s going to end up happening,” the former NFL kicker said of Rodgers’ potential return to ESPN.
Pat McAfee (left) said he’s optimistic Aaron Rodgers (right) can return to his program.
“You might see Aaron again on Tuesdays, but he has a lot going on right now.”
‘If so, I’d be extremely honored to have the opportunity to continue the conversation about the comeback story of a four-time MVP in a city that’s been desperate for a win forever, ever since Broadway Joe (Namath) came out and made the promise (before Super Bowl III) and a team that has a tremendous fan base.
“That story, to have it play out this season with him, would be amazing and will probably be used in every Aaron Rodgers documentaries 10 or 15 years from now. I’m guessing a lot of our clips will be there.”
During a January episode of the Pat McAfee Show, Rodgers appeared to suggest that Kimmel’s name would appear on a list of associates of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“There are a lot of people, including Jimmy Kimmel, who hope that list doesn’t come to light,” he said. However, the Jets quarterback later denied suggesting Kimmel was on the list.
Speaking on the McAfee Show after his initial comment, Rodgers said: “I totally understand how serious an allegation of pedophilia would be… so for him to be upset about that, I understand.”
McAfee himself addressed the outrage at the time, claiming the former Super Bowl winner was “just talking crap about Kimmel.”
And on Wednesday, the former NFL player turned media personality acknowledged once again that he and the rest of the team had to handle the fallout sensitively.
Rodgers had made weekly appearances on the ESPN show until January 2024.
“Last year, with how everything happened, I think we all understood: ‘We’re over it now, we’re moving on and looking ahead to next season,'” he told reporters gathered at ESPN’s Bristol campus.
McAfee acknowledged that he had faced accusations of not being sufficiently responsive to some of Rodgers’ conversations, but clearly the risk did not outweigh the reward for the host.
“Every time he comes up, you get a chance to hear from a guy who will be a Mount Rushmore in football history,” he said.
‘I’ve heard some people in the business talk about how I don’t resist. ‘I’m there simply to introduce the world to a man who didn’t speak much to the media for 13 years.’
The former NFL kicker’s popular YouTube show was licensed to ESPN in 2023, but continues to air on YouTube while blocks of it also simulcast on ESPN and stream on ESPN+.
McAfee responded when one of the roughly 50 journalists in attendance at ESPN’s Media Day asked him whether “journalistic standards” should apply to his show.
“I felt like there was apparently a calculated attack being made against me and my show because of how different we are and the journalistic standards we don’t adhere to,” she said.
‘We don’t have journalism school personnel on our staff. I didn’t do anything with an agent. I negotiated the deal myself. So those are two powerful groups that were potentially completely shut out of my operation. (…) A lot of legitimate people that I had a lot of respect for before this all started just made me look like a complete fool.’
The quarterback appeared to suggest that Jimmy Kimmel was on Epstein’s List.
“I understand there may be many reasons to hate me,” he added. “I think they are wrong. I would appreciate it if they would give me and my boys a chance. I think we are helping sports media as a whole in the future.”
“I think we’re going to make some mistakes and we apologize for that. But every time we get criticized and tried to kill us, I think ‘journalistic standards’ are certainly problematic. We want to be good for sports in sports media. We want to build sports. And we would appreciate it if you gave us a fair chance.”
Rodgers suffered a season-ending torn Achilles tendon after just four career snaps with the New York Jets in last season’s home opener.
The quarterback is expected to return to the field for the Jets’ Week 1 game against the San Francisco 49ers on ‘Monday Night Football’ on Sept. 9.
And if McAfee gets his wish, Rodgers could return to another ESPN show in the near future as well.
