Pat McAfee has quickly turned from a rising sports media star to one of the biggest stars outright in the space.
The former NFL punter was able to grow “The Pat McAfee Show” on his own. Over the last few years, he parlayed the show’s success into deals with FanDuel and ESPN, catapulting him into mainstream media.
But while McAfee’s show—which is being licensed by ESPN for a reported $17 million per year—has been on ESPN airwaves for under a year, it has already faced a ton of controversy. The former NFL punter has been criticized for calling Caitlin Clark a “white b—on air” and Caitlin Clark a “white b— on air,” and called out a former top ESPN executive for allegedly attempting to “sabotage” his show.
But the most controversial episode has been due to Aaron Rodgers.
The New York Jets quarterback has been a constant guest on McAfee’s show even prior to its agreement with ESPN. In that time, he’s made some controversial statements on the show including spewing conspiracy theories about the COVID-19 vaccine.
But in January, Rodgers appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” and took a sly jab at Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night host employed by Disney, which owns ESPN. The two had a back-and-forth, but the incident sparked a debate about the responsibility that McAfee — and, in turn, ESPN — carried in having Rodgers on the program.
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Is ESPN responsible for what its talent says on the air? How about if it’s a guest, or in McAfee’s case, the guest on a show that ESPN is simply licensing and not producing?
At least one ESPN executive thinks so.
ESPN exec says that the company “bears some responsibility”
ESPN President of Content Burke Magnus is a staunch supporter of McAfee. When McAfee took a shot at Norby Williamson earlier this year, he mentioned that he and Magnus had a great relationship.
Magnus and Williamson were also reportedly at odds about the network’s direction, with McAfee’s role at the network being one of the issues being debated.
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However, Magnus still thinks that ESPN has a certain level of responsibility for the comments of McAfee and his guests.
He admitted as such on the podcast “Sports Media with Richard Deistch,” adding that the situation is tricky, particularly because ESPN does not produce McAfee’s show.
“There’s two parts: He’s technically not an ESPN employee, right? Which limits sort of like the conventional paths we have in circumstances like that,” Magnus said. “And we do license the show which he fully produces and controls entirely. But notwithstanding that, it is our platform at the end of the day, right? And that’s the delicate balance when in circumstances like you mentioned. So I do think, yes, I do think we play a role. We bear some responsibility, and I would be a lot more concerned about circumstances like that going forward if we didn’t have the kind of dialog and open channels we have.”
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However, despite whatever rollercoaster ride may come with McAfee’s show, Magnus is still bullish on the media star. He complimented McAfee’s work ethic and his show’s relevance in the space, and assured that the partnership between ESPN and McAfee is for the long term.
“There’s no truth to the notion that we’re not committed to him long term,” Magnus said. “We’re not even a year into this relationship right now. Between his show and his work on College GameDay and other things he’s done for us on the business side and sales side, it’s been a great experience for us, notwithstanding the fact that, of course, we’ve had to manage some of the situations that you mentioned which were either uncomfortable or difficult for us.”
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