- A survey found that 48.9 percent of the shows’ viewers disliked Pat McAfee
- The show also saw a decline in viewership, down four percent from last year
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Sports media personality Pat McAfee has hinted that this may be his last season appearing on ESPN’s ‘College GameDay’.
McAfee recently responded to one report from The Athletic it stated that in a survey of the publication’s 3,100 readers, 48.9 percent disliked the former Indianapolis Colts punter on the show.
Only 30.1 percent said they liked him on the show and 21 percent said they had no opinion about it.
McAfee, 36, responded to the survey in a tweet that addressed both the survey and his status on the upcoming show.
“I’ve heard you all very loud and clear since the beginning of my time at GameDay. It’s one of the biggest reasons I didn’t re-sign with the legendary show,” McAfee wrote.
ESPN’s Pat McAfee has hinted that this may be his last season appearing on College GameDay
The former Indianapolis gambler declined to commit to the program after backlash from fans
McAfee appeared on the show in 2019 before taking on a full-time role in September 2022
“I’m not suited for some crowds and the ‘distinguished’ people of College Football are certainly one of them.
“It was an absolute joy and honor to sit at that desk and work with the fine people of that family…” he continued.
“It’s also been a lot of fun working 7 days a week for the past two football seasons.”
McAfee began appearing on College GameDay in 2019 before becoming one of the show’s full-time analysts in September 2022.
College GameDay has also seen a decline in viewership, down four percent this year.
In 2023, the show averaged 1.956 million viewers per episode. In 2022, the show averaged 2.043 million per episode The Athletics.
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, which was a pay cut from his four-year, $120 million deal with FanDuel.
The network had already made McAfee one of their mainstays in their college program, but this year’s deal saw them acquire his popular Pat McAfee Show, where 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 has definitely made over $1,000,000 with us,” McAfee confirmed to the New York Post on Wednesday.
Rodgers and Alabama coach Nick Saban are among the star-studded lineup appearing on The Pat McAfee Show.
And according to the Post, the former NFL player is using money from his own five-year, $85 million deal with ESPN to land such high-profile guests, with Saban also reportedly being paid handsomely.
Rodgers has been a fixture on the show every Tuesday for the past few seasons. McAfee launched his show in 2019 and aired on YouTube before ESPN agreed to air the show starting in September.
