Be cautious about your desires. Pat McAfee inked a five-year, $85 million deal with ESPN last spring to transition his highly popular radio show to the network.
Although McAfee is just a few months into his formal collaboration with the prominent sports network, there have been reports of certain ESPN employees expressing concerns about his tendency to take a relaxed approach to journalistic ethics.
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As reported by Ben Strauss of the Washington Post, some of McAfee’s colleagues at ESPN are raising questions about his decision to pay Aaron Rodgers over $1 million for his weekly appearances on the show, along with other potential journalistic concerns.
Still, the report of the payments was gossiped about by ESPN colleagues because of the gaudy amount and also what it might mean should another ESPN show want Rodgers to appear. There could be an element of professional jealousy involved but, more broadly, the question that came up most among ESPN staffers is what, exactly, are the rules for McAfee?
There was the “suck it” clip, but there also has been internal chafing at his seeming dismissal of Washington State football fans and a decades-long “GameDay” tradition. Another clip that circulated among staffers was McAfee’s spiraling speculation on the exit of Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Alan Williams and an FBI raid that may or may not have happened. (One former ESPN reporter said there used to be a designated person to discuss with talent how they might handle sensitive off-the-field issues before any TV or radio show.)
Meanwhile, ESPN executives are said to be asserting that McAfee enjoys more freedom than others due to the licensing arrangement for his show. This means that the 36-year-old former NFL punter and his team are not considered official ESPN employees.
It remains to be seen whether McAfee will address the issues raised by Straus. He has already acknowledged a recent survey conducted by The Athletic, which revealed that 49% of respondents do not enjoy his presence on College GameDay.
In his response, McAfee dropped hints that he might be departing from the renowned college football pregame show after this year.
It will be intriguing to observe whether McAfee responds to Strauss’ report regarding his ESPN colleagues’ criticisms. As we know, he’s not one to remain silent when something is troubling him.
