Pat McAfee and LeSean McCoy Credit: Speakeasy, Barry Reeger-Imagn Images
By Brandon Contes on

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Stephen A. Smith recently cited Pat McAfee as playing by a different set of rules at ESPN, but the only rule for McAfee might be that there are no rules.

McAfee was on ESPN Thursday afternoon when someone noticed him place what appeared to be a lit item into an ashtray, and smoke rose from it. The eight-second clip quickly went viral on social media with most people assuming it was a joint. McAfee has been very public about his love for marijuana and was previously spotted using a vape pen on the set of his 2025 Draft Spectacular.

If it was marijuana, what does it mean? Thursday night on Speakeasy, LeSean McCoy claimed it means McAfee is one of the most powerful people in the world.

“Pat is a kicker, and he’s more popular than any quarterback that’s retired other than Tom Brady,” McCoy said. “He is probably the most powerful person other than Donald Trump. He’s the only dude I know that can smoke weed on his show and nothing happens. Call out his boss, and then gets a raise. He can do whatever he want!

“I’m a fan of Pat,” McCoy continued. “I’ve always been a fan of Pat. The stuff he’s doing right now, nobody’s done. He’s great on TV, great personality. Imagine a kicker doing these types of things. I root for Pat, like I said, ain’t nobody more powerful than him other than the president.”

Saying Pat McAfee might be more powerful than anyone other than Donald Trump might be extreme. But he’s clearly more powerful than Paul Pierce and anyone else in sports media.

As the video of McAfee went viral, he responded by writing “Little sage never hurt nobody” on social media before pivoting to Thursday Night Football.

Pat McAfee operates by a different set of rules on his show because it’s his show and studio. Mike Greenberg, Stephen A. Smith, and Peter Schrager can’t smoke on-air because they can’t smoke on ESPN property. The Pat McAfee Show is Pat’s property.

If ESPN has an issue with anything McAfee does, it’s ultimately up to them to use their tape delay to dump it. And if they don’t mind him giving Aaron Rodgers a platform to denigrate the network and say whatever he wants, they’re probably not going to care too much about a little bit of smoke.

About Brandon Contes

Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com

View all posts by Brandon Contes