Pat McAfee skipping NFL Draft not just about combine: ‘Insufficient respect throughout all of this sh*t’

Pat McAfee’s NFL Draft boycott isn’t because he gets no respect at the combine, it’s because he gets no respect at all.

After broadcasting live from the NFL combine at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis last week, McAfee announced he won’t be bringing his annual “Draft Spectacular” show to Green Bay next month. McAfee didn’t appreciate the way he was treated by middle management at the combine, implying they made it unnecessarily difficult to broadcast from the event.

Thursday afternoon, McAfee clarified that not going to the NFL Draft, however, is about more than how he was treated last week.

“It doesn’t sound like you’re going to the draft” 😂

I was just letting our people know @JJWatt #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/Zb9dPYyP8O

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 6, 2025

“I do appreciate that becoming a massive story on the internet,” McAfee said Thursday. “Because I was just kinda telling our people, like, ‘Hey, we’re not going.’ And then I’m being very transparent about the reason why.”

But McAfee didn’t like the way that massive story on the internet was covered, taking issue with Front Office Sports for writing that he’s skipping the NFL Draft because of “insufficient respect” by middle managers at the combine. According to McAfee, the wording essentially opened the door for his critics to claim he’s being too whiny.

“It’s not just the insufficient respect – which I’ve never said in my life – at the combine,” McAfee insisted. “It’s basically the overall relationship. People don’t know, I have paid the NFL millions and millions of dollars for years, so that I can get rights and social media rights and digital rights for highlights and plays for our show.”

McAfee announced his rights deal with NFL Films nearly three years ago. And shortly after announcing that partnership, McAfee revealed he was paying over $4 million for the right to air game highlights, while feuding with the league after they attempted to prohibit him from using their logos on show graphics.

“I have had a business partnership with the NFL, both through the NFL Films and the NFL for years and years and years,” McAfee continued. “But nobody has told these middle managers, ‘Hey, just cause he’s younger than you and you think he’s a dipsh*t doesn’t mean…’ Combine was the most ridiculous. But it’s not just the combine. It is a totality of this thing. So I don’t appreciate it being reported as ‘insufficient respect at the combine.’ It’s like, insufficient respect throughout all of this sh*t is the reason, including the draft.”

Take that, NFL.