Pat McAfee wasn’t punted after all.
On Thursday, the ESPN commentator revealed he will be returning to the program’s flagship college pregame show, “College GameDay.”
“When my contract came up, after living a dream alongside that crew that is just as talented off camera as they are on camera, I thought long and hard,” McAfee said in his announcement video. “Am I the right person to be doing this incredible gig? There are millions and millions of people that would love to be sitting in my seat. Is this what I want to do?
“And the only thing I kept coming back to is, hell f—king yeah. I’m lucky. I’m honored. I’m humbled. I’m grateful. And I’m back.”
McAfee joined the program in 2022, which features a staple crew of Rece Davis, Kirk Herbstreit, Lee Corso, Desmond Howard and now legendary coach Nick Saban, who replaced David Pollack.
The unabashed McAfee also didn’t mince words when sharing intel about his contractual discussions.
“There’s some drama, obviously, that started lingering,” McAfee said, referring to the drawn-out nature of his “GameDay” future. “We had chatted about it, me, [content president] Burke [Magnus] and Jimmy [Pitaro], obviously. … Then, some lawyer at ESPN tried to be a super-genius. I Closed Sicilianed him. I ended up being a free agent, and it was a real moment of looking in the mirror.”
McAfee didn’t stop there, also attacking other more traditional media personalities.
“To that lawyer, you’re a genius, buddy. Caused a lot of s–t,” McAfee remarked. “But ultimately, in the end, this stooge in a USA tank top, and if I would’ve had jorts on, could work you every time in that negotiating table. Just remember that. To all you journalists that are talking about it, I’d love to sit in a room with you one-on-one, too, and see how it ends up.”
The polarizing McAfee has been anything but afraid to criticize one of his foremost employers.
After ESPN’s list of the top 100 athletes this century was unveiled in July, McAfee lambasted the rankings while on the network’s own airwaves.
McAfee also got candid about a survey from The Athletic in which 48.9 percent of respondents indicated they “don’t like” seeing the former punter on “College GameDay.”
controversy he’s brought to ESPN. CraSH/Shutterstock
“For those people to have a terrible morning because of my existence, was certainly something that weighed very heavy on this here dumbass sports dude’s heart,” McAfee said. “Every time I thought about it, I was like, ‘What?’ I get the opportunity to do this. I’m still getting the opportunity to do this. I need to do this.”
McAfee and the rest of the “GameDay” crew will begin the 2024 season from Dublin, Ireland as Florida State takes on Georgia Tech from the Aer Lingus College Football Classic on Aug. 24.
After that, the show will travel College Station, Texas for Notre Dame vs. Texas A&M in Week 1 on Aug. 31.