Pat McAfee is preparing to tell his story to the world through music.
After announcing he would be releasing an original music album last December, which was accompanied by the release of his debut single “Dookie”, former NFL punter and current ESPN personality Pat McAfee announced on Wednesday that his debut album titled “The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure” will be released on Aug. 14.
For as long as I can remember my mere existence has made people hate my guts..
I’ve been writing songs about it for 20yrs & it’s time to let them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d like my kids to know exactly who their dad is.
🗣🗣 AUGUST 14TH, 2026 pic.twitter.com/AqiEVOw1Xh
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 22, 2026
“For as long as I can remember, my mere existence has made people hate my guts,” McAfee wrote in the announcement on social media. “I’ve been writing songs about it for 20yrs & it’s time to let them aht.. A LOT of headlines & narratives.. if I was to die, I’d like my kids to know exactly who their dad is.”
During his show on Wednesday afternoon, McAfee shared more about his upcoming project.
I’m pretty excited about this album..
The Diary Of A Polarizing Figure
August 14th, 2026 #PMSLive https://t.co/YJRTxr3L1s pic.twitter.com/qQDP31Kmsj
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 22, 2026
“With everything happening in the world and everyone telling me how terrible of a person I am, it felt like a good time to let people know that I know you feel that way about me, I actually wrote a bunch of songs about it,” McAfee said. “I wrote this entire thing … over the last 20 years or so in my notes section. A lot of very personal stuff in here. Finding my singing voice has been fun, that has been a blast. And then all of the incredible people in Nashville who have assisted and helped me kind of piece all of this together, I’m so grateful and thankful. …I think I got heat. I think they’re good. I’m very confident.”
McAfee didn’t specify whether this would be a one-and-done or if we can expect more from him musically down the road, but he did mention that he’s got about 40 more songs already written in his notes app. The raw material is there if he wants it. He’s already proved his lyricism is something to behold.
The only question is whether people will find the grievances of a man who’s about to make $60 million per year relatable. We’ll see on Aug. 14.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.