Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets might approve of the content NFL Films used during HBO’s Hard Knocks this week, but Pat McAfee doesn’t.
As Rodgers continues to ingratiate himself to the media, McAfee wants us to remember he liked the quarterback first, and that wasn’t properly conveyed during this season’s first episode of Hard Knocks. The Rodgers-McAfee relationship has been enjoyed on the latter’s podcast every Tuesday for the last three NFL seasons. And earlier this year, Rodgers famously went on The Pat McAfee Show to announce his intentions of playing for the Jets this season.
What happened NFL Films…#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/lUeFiT2FL6
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 9, 2023
“The biggest moment in our show’s history, top-10 stream in the history of the internet, and we are very thankful that Aaron chose to do that,” McAfee said.” Obviously, we have a good relationship with him. He breaks the news that he’s going to the Jets. They just kinda gave that on Hard Knocks to Colin Cowherd and I think Craig Carton and Nick Wright as well. NFL Films, I thought we had a good relationship. What the f**k is that?”
McAfee noted that Cowherd had a rollercoaster of a day considering the “very dumb” comment he made about Dwayne Haskins on his Fox Sports Radio, followed by being credited with breaking the Aaron Rodgers news on Hard Knocks later that night.
“I was a little taken aback. I was a little perturbed, sent a text or two to NFL Films like, ‘What the f**k?’ Do you guys have a vendetta against me?” McAfee continued. “Is Colin paying you directly, is Nick Wright paying you directly? Is Craig Carton paying you directly? What the f**k did I do…but they said that’s not the case, there was a misunderstanding, miscommunication.”
That’s quite the miscommunication. NFL Films Presents airs on FS1, so perhaps that relationship led Hard Knocks in the direction of their personalities. Of course, Hundreds of thousands of people watched Rodgers announces his allegiance to the Jets on The Pat McAfee Show live, and millions watched the clips on social media. The McAfee-Rodgers relationship has been well-documented, with coverage of their show segments exploding during the pandemic. Nevertheless, HBO and NFL Films shut him out of Hard Knocks.
