Alabama senior chemical engineering major Gabby Mathis had no memory of ever kicking any sort of ball in her life before attempting the Pat McAfee Kicking Contest with $500,000 on the line. Thankfully for her, however, former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit can still throw a football 33 yards.
McAfee opened Saturday morning’s contest, lamenting just how much money he had given away out of his own pocket so far this season, with the total already sitting at $2.86 million just four weeks into the season. McAfee claimed that he felt like he “got hustled a little bit” last week when the winner of the raffle tapped in a former soccer player to attempt the kick instead. This time, however, it seemed pretty likely he would not be paying out.
Before attempting the kick, Gabby openly admitted that she had no experience kicking footballs or any other kind of balls, for that matter. However, she chose to attempt the kick herself instead of asking someone else to do it on her behalf.
“I camped out for so many hours, and I got lucky enough to get picked, so let’s go for it,” she said.
When asked to give her some advice, Kirk Herbstreit asked for clarification.
“Have you ever kicked a ball before in your life?” Herbstreit asked.
“If I did, I don’t remember,” Gabby responded, adding that she may have kicked her brother in the past when they got into an argument, but that’s about the extent of her kicking experience.
Obviously, everyone was pulling for her, but the kick went about as poorly as you would expect. Despite some light coaching from both McAfee and Herbstreit, the kick bounced about five yards in front of her.
Alabama student Gabby had never kicked a football before today, but Pat McAfee invited Kirk Herbstreit to throw the ball through the uprights to give her $300,000. pic.twitter.com/US6uJ1Skxn
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 4, 2025
Herbstreit was less than thrilled at McAfee seemingly getting out of a payout that easily.
“It’s come to this,” Herbstreit said as he lightly slapped McAfee on the cheek. “It’s come to this.”
When giving her another attempt clearly was not going to be fruitful, Kirk Herbstreit suggested that Pat McAfee do the kick on her behalf. McAfee, however, had another idea.
“How about this, Gabby,” McAfee said. “If Kirk Herbstreit can throw that ball through those uprights right there, we’ll give you $300,000.”
Obviously, Gabby was thrilled at the plan. And even at 56 years old, Herbstreit had no problem at all slinging the football 33 yards through the uprights as Gabby jumped up and down in joy and disbelief.
“It’s getting even more pricey,” McAfee said. “Kirk Herbstreit, I did not know you had that in you, you son of a bitch.”
“Gabby, this is for you, your mom, your brother, and your whole family,” McAfee said as he presented her with the giant check. “Kirk, good on you, man.”
With that bizarre edition of the Pat McAfee Kicking Contest, McAfee has now given away more than $3 million, and we aren’t even halfway through the season yet.
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