• Loading stock data...
Wednesday, September 17, 2025

Pat McAfee Says He Can’t Book ESPN NBA Talent. Sources Disagree

  • McAfee said Wednesday the ESPN NBA crew was “rather impossible to work with“ and courted other talent.
  • “Nobody knows what McAfee’s talking about,” one source told Front Office Sports.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The mercurial Pat McAfee has managed to befuddle his ESPN colleagues once again.

The prevailing mood inside ESPN was confusion after McAfee publicly complained it’s become virtually “impossible” to book the network’s NBA talent for his weekday afternoon show. 

In a post on Twitter/X Wednesday, McAfee offered to pay outside NBA experts to appear on his show, which he licenses to ESPN via an eye-popping five-year, $85 million deal.

“I need an NBA expert(s) for the progrum… not everyday.. just someone to FaceTime periodically thru the season. I will pay, because I pay everybody for their contributions to our show,” McAfee tweeted.

“Obviously.. when licensing our show thru ESPN, we thought it’d be easy to get NBA folks from the ESPN roster.. That has not been the case…The @ESPNNBA crew has been rather impossible to work with due to their daily scheduling during season.. afternoons are TOUGH for the entire group. Sooooo… Which ex-NBA players do you think would be a great representative of The Association on our dumbass show? Thanks again. Cheers.”

Unsurprisingly, ESPN declined to comment on this missive from their resident bad boy. But I asked a couple of my sources about McAfee’s tweet. Their reaction: Say what?

“Nobody knows what McAfee’s talking about,” one source told me.

“Makes no sense—but that’s Pat…” sighed another.  

I’m sure McAfee has his reasons for tweaking executives in Bristol, who gave him wide latitude after he dispatched feared corporate power player Norby Williamson, who had been the network’s ultimate survivor for 40 years. Maybe an ESPN personality was on a plane one day and left Pat and the boys hanging on the line? But this claim doesn’t add up in my book.

ESPN hired Shams Charania to replace the retired Adrian Wojnarowski as its lead NBA reporter. McAfee publicly campaigned for Charania—a longtime contributor to his show—arguing he was the only choice. You know what? McAfee was spot-on: Charania is already proving he’s a great fit after a few weeks on the job. But you could argue one reason why ESPN hired the 30-year-old insider was to keep one of its biggest stars happy.

It’s also a reach to argue ESPN doesn’t make its talent available enough for its own TV/radio shows. In fact, the reverse is true. ESPN is famous, or infamous, for forcing its talent to go through the “car wash” of studio shows such as Get Up, First Take, SportsCenter, and NBA Today. They then use that firehose to spray their news and opinions across the sports media landscape.

The bottom line: If you pocket Disney’s coin as a front-facing talent, you better be ready to go on the air suited and booted at a moment’s notice. In fact, ESPN president of content Burke Magnus tried to shoot down the four-letter network’s reputation for over-using its talent during his recruiting pitch to Charles Barkley at our live Tuned In sports media summit in New York last month.

This is an odd time for McAfee to rock the boat. He should be riding high. To me, his hilarious field-goal segment on College GameDay has become one of the best things on sports TV. Driven by McAfee’s star power, College GameDay is off to its best start ever, averaging 2.2 million viewers through Week 7, up 9% from the same point last season. 

Meanwhile, McAfee’s eponymous show just had its most-watched episode ever. An episode featuring his weekly interview with Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers racked up 50 million views across various platforms one day earlier this month, according to the network.

So why is McAfee speaking out again? Maybe he’s trying to send a message that he’s more independent than other ESPN talents. He’s done it before.

But I think it’s simply McAfee being McAfee. He shoots from the hip. He doesn’t have an off button; he never has. Don’t forget, McAfee has the ear of Magnus, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and even Disney CEO Bob Iger. Like Michael Jordan, normal rules don’t apply to him. Playing by his own rules has gotten McAfee very far, very fast in his short media career. Why should he change now?

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Feb 17, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; NBA Commissioner Adam Silver talks to media during a press conference before NBA All Star Saturday Night at Lucas Oil Stadium.

Adam Silver Doesn’t Want NBA Europe to Be a ‘Top-Heavy League’ 

Silver said he doesn’t want the prospective league to be like European soccer.

Adam Silver Walks Back Claim He’d Never Heard of Aspiration

Adam Silver spoke at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit.

Amazon Sports Chief Says NBA, WNBA Coverage Should Be Celebratory

“There’s too much weird negativity out there,” Jay Marine told FOS.

Featured Today

Premier Lacrosse League

‘The Circus Is Coming to Town’: Why Upstart Leagues Start on Tour

In their ambitious plans, a traveling schedule is only temporary.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - APRIL 19: A detailed view of the MLB Debut patch on the jersey of Patrick Monteverde #44 of the Miami Marlins prior to game against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on April 19, 2025 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
September 13, 2025

The Tiny Jersey Patch at the Center of the MLB Rookie Card..

Autographed cards containing a piece of baseball history have upended the market.
September 11, 2025

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 10, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base Bryce Harper (3) watches his ball clear the wall for a home run against the New York Mets during the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park

Rob Manfred Says Any Talk of MLB Salary Cap Is Premature

“No decisions” have been made regarding an MLB salary cap.
Feb 9, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) fakes a hand off in the first quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Caesars Superdome.
September 16, 2025

Amazon Says It Wants to Broadcast a Super Bowl

Jay Marine says he is “optimistic” about airing the Big Game.
September 16, 2025

Manfred Says New MLB Rights Deal ‘Replicated’ Money From ESPN Opt-Out

Rob Manfred spoke at the Front Office Sports Tuned In summit.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
exclusive
September 16, 2025

The Eagles Play Christmas Day for NFL on Netflix

The father-son duo will call the Christmas Day doubleheader again.
Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Netflix Christmas GameDay cake seen after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium.
September 16, 2025

‘We Didn’t Get a Test Run’: Greg Olsen on Netflix NFL Christmas..

Greg Olsen said the game was uncharted territory for him.
September 16, 2025

Pitaro: ESPN, MLB Making Progress on New Deal Talks

The network and league ended their deal earlier this year.
Eric Shanks
September 16, 2025

World Cup Will Be Fox’s ‘Biggest Undertaking’ Ever

The tournament is expanding from 32 to 48 teams.