Will Pat McAfee return to College GameDay in 2024? We’re a little over two months away from the beginning of the season and right now it’s not a sure thing.
McAfee has recently been coy about his future on GameDay, pledging that “it will get figured out” when talking with fellow GameDay star Kirk Herbstreit, but admitting that it wasn’t quite set in stone yet.
That uncertainty appears to be the reality as a new report indicates McAfee has yet to sign a new contract for College GameDay, which is separate from the licensing deal that allows his daily show to air on ESPN throughout the week.
Via Andrew Marchand at The Athletic:
With the start of the season a little more than two months away, Pat McAfee remains unsigned with ESPN’s “College GameDay,” sources briefed on McAfee’s contract talks told The Athletic.
McAfee, the 37-year-old talk show host, wrestling analyst and firebrand, said late last year that he would return to the program, but a deal to make that official is still not completed. McAfee has a separate contract that allows ESPN to license his daily “The Pat McAfee Show” on its network and YouTube.
It’s hard to envision College GameDay without McAfee, especially given the rapport that he shares with Herbstreit and others on the set. But with Nick Saban coming on board next season, things will get even more crowded.
McAfee’s tour de force was featured centerstage on College GameDay this past season. The former punter would seem to be a great fit for the traveling show as his target audience and the GameDay demographic have plenty of overlap. His kicking competitions were fun and his larger than life personality definitely translated to a more energetic product, especially his interactions with the live crowd. He also took The Pat McAfee Show live on Fridays from the GameDay set throughout the college football season that were notable for the many stars it drew and the live audience he was able to attract.
However, as we’ve seen many times over with McAfee in his brief ESPN career, there was also a very polarizing element. And if anything, maybe the show was centered too much on his escapades. McAfee stepped into some controversies with various fanbases and it was clear that the split reaction he received from college football fans over his presence on the show weighed on him. Being part of a televised sports institution such as College GameDay is a different proposition from his own personal kingdom on The Pat McAfee Show.
Given all of that, it would have to be classified a major upset if McAfee didn’t appear on College GameDay this fall, but the fact that a deal hasn’t been agreed to does lead one to wonder why it hasn’t happened yet.
