Dave Portnoy credits ‘the school of Barstool’ for launching Pat McAfee’s media stardom

Despite how he might present himself, there is no one more successful and powerful in sports media right now than Pat McAfee.

Barstool’s Dave Portnoy would like some credit for that.

Before he brought his show to ESPN, McAfee’s post-NFL playing career included a stint at Barstool Sports. It would perhaps shock no one to learn that the relationship ended acrimoniously over what McAfee perceived as disrespect from Barstool’s business and financial side. The Pat McAfee Show eventually found its way to ESPN, and since then the host has become the face of the Worldwide Leader, and he’s somehow about to become even more omnipresent.

Portnoy recently stopped by 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Felger & Mazz during a live show in Nantucket, and the topic of how much impact Barstool had in shaping McAfee into the media superstar he is today came up.

Did Barstool help make @PatMcAfeeShow into the star he has become today? @FelgerAndMazz were joined by @stoolpresidente live from the Chicken Box on Nantucket: pic.twitter.com/LEBcQRMCn6

— 98.5 The Sports Hub (@985TheSportsHub) August 21, 2026

“We didn’t make McAfee because McAfee was a punter and very talented. Would McAfee be what he is now without us? Probably not,” said Portnoy.

The Barstool owner was quick to note that the former Indianapolis Colts punter was wildly ambitious, using an example that, in retrospect, makes his accomplishments all the more impressive.

“I remember when we first talked to him, one of the first things he said was like, ‘I want to be WWE Champion.’ He had never wrestled. He did that all on his own,” Portnoy continued. “He had these crazy ambitions, but he also went to basically the school of Barstool, and we were a very good school at that time on how to use the internet, social media.”

Portnoy also noted that Barstool helped build a team around McAfee, and some of those people are still with him today.

“One of the first days, we did an audition for him. ‘Hey, if you’re a Barstool guy, we’re building a world around Pat McAfee,’ and all Barstool people went. A lot of those are still his guys,” he said. “So I think he was right place, right time, supremely talented. We’ve had tons of people who haven’t become McAfee, but he was the right guy to get the perfect education at the right time.”

The Barstool founder was then asked whether he understood why McAfee had become so big, and he wasn’t entirely sure, only saying that his brand of humor was ultimately very different to Portnoy’s.

“He’s a very, like, rah-rah Midwest down-to-earth guy. And for that, when you get put on an ESPN, he was already building it, but that’s just so different at the time to kind of what they had,” said Portnoy. “It’s like, why did Barstool blow up?”

“Because you were super edgy and borderline offensive,” replied Mike Felger, who says he doesn’t understand McAfee’s appeal. “And I don’t find McAfee that— he swears every once in a while, takes his shirt off. Like, I don’t get it.”

“There’s something about him. I mean, he turned down millions to punt. He comes to us, makes money but leaves on his own so it’s kind of like an American success story that he really does push out,” added Portnoy. “I don’t think you’d say his audience is me. Like, it’s not like the super highly educated… It’s kinda like the grassroots ‘We laugh a lot, we laugh hard, and we’re not even sure if it’s funny’ crowd.”

Portnoy has been peppering some shots in McAfee’s direction over the last few months, and one wonders when the thin-skinned College GameDay analyst might finally take the bait and turn this into a full-fledged media feud.