Pat McAfee called out ESPN for the lack of availability of its NBA experts. Screen grab: ESPN
ESPNNBABy Ben Axelrod on

The 2024-25 NBA season is here and Pat McAfee is still looking for an expert.

That is coming as a surprise to the former All-Pro punter, considering his program’s affiliation with ESPN.

Despite currently being one year into a five-year, $85 million deal to lease his show to the Worldwide Leader, McAfee says that the network’s NBA experts are largely unavailable to him.

In a lengthy post on X, the 37-year-old explained the situation while putting a call out for any NBA analyst willing to join The Pat McAfee Show regularly (as is the case with Aaron Rodgers, it would be a paid position).

“I need an NBA expert(s) for the progrum… not everyday.. just someone to FaceTime periodically thru the season. I will pay, because I pay everybody for their contributions to our show,” McAfee wrote. “Obviously.. when licensing our show thru ESPN, we thought it’d be easy to get NBA folks from the ESPN roster.. That has not been the case.. The @ESPNNBA crew has been rather impossible to work with due to their daily scheduling during season.. afternoons are TOUGH for the entire group.

“Sooooo… Which ex-NBA players do you think would be a great representative of the Association on our dumbass show?”

While ESPN’s NBA crew is undoubtedly busy — which McAfee noted — the post could certainly be interpreted as a sideswipe at ESPN and/or its NBA talent. At a minimum, one would imagine that ESPN execs would have preferred for him to keep his dismay private, even if his putting a public callout for NBA analysts to join his show would have assuredly raised some eyebrows.

In any event, it’s curious that ESPN wouldn’t be able to find a way to make at least one of its NBA analysts available to McAfee on a regular basis, especially considering that the network has positioned PMS as one of its cornerstone programs. Yet despite previously having NBA analysts such as Kendrick Perkins and Austin Rivers as regulars on his show, it appears that McAfee will be going outside the ESPN family for this season’s analysis.

[Pat McAfee on X]

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.

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