Pat McAfee and ESPN are engaged in long-term contract extension talks, sources told Front Office Sports.
McAfee’s current five-year deal with ESPN is not up until 2028 and finalization of a new contract wasn’t imminent, the sources said. An ESPN spokesperson declined to comment. Earlier Monday, McAfee announced his show’s DraftKings deal in a segment on Monday. DraftKings is the official sportsbook sponsor of ESPN.
ESPN’s relationship with McAfee does not boil down to a strict talent deal like most of their on-air employees. Instead, the network licenses The Pat McAfee Show, which means writing one check for McAfee, his co-hosts and producers, and the program’s studio in Indianapolis. On typical studio shows, ESPN has large overhead costs on top of what it pays the talent.
The ESPN-McAfee arrangement does have a talent element as the former All-Pro punter stars on College GameDay, one of ESPN marquee properties, which has set ratings records for the past two seasons.
“We were up 34% year-over-year in the 18-to-24 demo,” ESPN’s president of Burke Magnus told FOS last year. “That just doesn’t happen in our business without something remarkable. To me, that’s the appeal of Pat. I have kids who are 23 and 25. He’s the guy. He’s the voice of their generation and their fandom. He represents them. He’s the guy like Chris Berman was for me.”
McAfee has demonstrated why he’s worth a fortune to both ESPN and DraftKings. He’s a draw for the younger male demographic and was a proven driver of customer acquisition for DraftKings’s rival FanDuel in the early days of sports-gambling legalization.
He’s also seen as a big star by both active famous athletes and league executives alike. Last week, when ESPN needed to fill airtime because the Eastern Conference Finals ended in a sweep, McAfee booked every major commissioner other than Roger Goodell for a special primetime edition of his show—on two days’ notice.
ESPN’s extension talks with McAfee come as Netflix has been going full-throttle into major video podcasts. In the sports realm, the streaming giant has done large deals with Barstool Sports shows including Pardon My Take, The Ryen Russillo Show, and Spittin’ Chiclets, as well as several shows from The Ringer, including the Bill Simmons Podcast.
