Aaron Rodgers Pat McAfee Jimmy Kimmel Screen grab: The Pat McAfee Show
By Ben Axelrod on

To this point in their partnership — that we know of — Disney has been relatively hands off when it comes to Aaron Rodgers’ appearances on The Pat McAfee Show.

Sure, Rodgers has routinely used his weekly appearances on ESPN programming to air his own grievances and further conspiracy theories that have nothing to do with sports and to even criticize the company itself. But as far as we know, ESPN has left what has been a staple of The McAfee Show untouched.

Could that be about to change?

While ESPN seemingly hasn’t had an issue with Rodgers’ weekly appearances, one would imagine that its parent company, Disney, has some thoughts on Rodgers’ recent comments regarding Jimmy Kimmel. For the uninitiated, Rodgers used his first McAfee appearance of 2024 to suggest that Kimmel is on Jeffery Epstein’s associates’ list, which prompted the ABC late night host to publicly threaten legal action.

While Rodgers potentially committing slander on ESPN airwaves is an issue in and of itself, it’s only amplified by his target being one of Disney’s highest profile employees. ESPN clearly has a sliding scale for employees and shows sticking to sports, but this isn’t just a matter of company-on-company crime — it’s now an issue that involves the parent company of “The Worldwide Leader.”

Making matters worse is that Rodgers’ appearances on The Pat McAfee Show are paid, handsomely at that. And while the four-time MVP is paid by The Pat McAfee Show — which ESPN leases — and not the network, itself, for the appearances, that’s ultimately a distinction without much of a difference, at least optically.

Add it all up and what you get is one of the most famous athletes in the world being paid to use Disney airwaves to accuse one of Disney’s most famous employees of — at the very least — being a close associate of one of the world’s most famous convicted pedophiles. How could Disney not get involved?

Only complicating the situation is that ESPN has clearly made McAfee one of its marquee talents since signing the NFL punter-turned-media mogul to a high profile deal last year. And McAfee is clearly loyal to Rodgers and seemingly sensitive to the idea that ESPN would have any editorial control over his show.

As for Rodgers, this might be his ultimate end game — the quarterback who’s “too hot for TV” and censored by the powers that be. To be clear, we don’t know whether ESPN will exert any influence over McAfee, with the company declining comment on the matter according to Front Office Sports’ A.J. Perez.

It would be hard to believe, however, that Disney wouldn’t have other ideas.

[The Pat McAfee Show]

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod