The Pat McAfee media empire is getting bigger as the former Indianapolis Colts punter can add “full-time member of College GameDay” to his growing resumé.
First reported by Andrew Marchand of the New York Post, McAfee will begin his permanent role this weekend as No. 1 ranked Alabama takes on Texas in Austin. McAfee tweeted that he’ll have more details about this on Wednesday but he all but confirmed the news.
It’s an absolute honor 2 have this tweet tweeted about me.
GameDay is a show that I’ve been a fan of FOREVER
So many moving parts including real cool conversations w/ the fine folks from WWE..all moved quickly
Will lead show manana w/ all the deets
🗣 DUMBEST LIFE OF ALL TIME https://t.co/wC4vhzUJIv
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 7, 2022
While I’m sure he can make this work, working GameDay means a very tight 12 hour or so window working WWE SmackDown on Friday night and College GameDay on Saturday morning. Along with monthly WWE pay-per-views where the next three show are taking place on a Saturday, including one in Saudi Arabia, which may require some leniency on WWE and/or ESPN’s end. And that doesn’t include The Pat McAfee Show plus working six college football simulcasts for Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions on ESPN2.
Update: McAfee said Wednesday he won’t work SmackDown during the college football season, and WWE chief content officer Triple H confirmed that they’re fine with that and look forward to McAfee’s return after the season:
Pat McAfee said on his radio show today that his role commentating SmackDown will be on hold while he does College GameDay, but he'll remain part of the WWE family. https://t.co/H9N9TpnNYK
— Wrestling Observer (@WONF4W) September 7, 2022
.@PatMcAfeeShow approached us about his amazing opportunity with College GameDay. We’d never stand in Pat’s way, as he continues to architect his exceptional career.
Pat will remain a member of the @WWE Universe and we look forward to his return. #UpToSomethingSZN
— Triple H (@TripleH) September 7, 2022
Regardless, it’s a smart move by ESPN to hire McAfee, who is not only entertaining in front of the camera but he knows what he’s talking about and is popular with college-aged people. Add the fact that Lee Corso is getting up there in age, I’m not saying McAfee is going to boot Corso out anytime soon but it wouldn’t hurt ESPN to have options for when it happens because Corso will not be easy to replace.
