Mountaineers in the Pros

Pat McAfee Speaks Candidly About WWE Future in Midst of Growing Business

Published

8 months ago

August 24, 2023

Pat McAfee grew up dreaming of being a WWE super-star, but now that he’s an adult and a successful media mogul, it’s further down on his list of priorities.

While taking questions from fans on his Instagram story on Thursday, McAfee was faced with the question about how much WWE fans can expect to see him in the future. McAfee, who stepped away from his duties with WWE when he landed a gig with ESPN’s College GameDay and then again after the impending birth of his daughter back in March, offered a candid response.

“It was an honour and a dream, and I had the time of my f****** life in there. Loved it, every single moment, but now my business has got to a point where I’m very lucky for this and fortunate for this,” said the former NFL punter turned entrepreneur. “We’ve worked our a** off, but you know I’m incredibly busy, and we’ve got fifteen employees over here that are having babies and building houses so it’s a tough thing to deal with mentally because emotionally I want to be there but I just can’t timing wise. But we will figure it out.”

What McAfee is alluding to business wise is his show’s transition to being part of ESPN’s daily lineup. McAFee was, of course, asked a lot about this during his question and answer session with fans since it’s now about a week away. McAfee’s deal with ESPN for his show is for five years and around $85 million.

Details Released About Pat McAfee’s Deal with ESPN

When the deal was announced, McAfee addressed what the move to ESPN means for the Pat McAfee Show and what may change from its current form, “we’re hoping that we can help ESPN be the most fantastic it has ever been in our next chapter. We’re taking A LOT of pride in being offered 10 hours a week on ESPN,” said McAfee.

The Pat McAfee Show will remain in its daily spot on YouTube and McAfee will be bringing his entire crew with him to continue in their roles as well. In addition to living on YouTube, the show will also air as part of the network’s daily programing on both ESPN and ESPN+. This move is expected to officially take place in the fall.

For a related story, McAfee gives back to his hometown in the wake of tragedy.