Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee took a victory lap on his former team's elimination from postseason contention. Pat McAfee and the Indianapolis Colts.
By Ben Axelrod on

When it comes to Indianapolis, there may not be a greater champion of the city and its sports teams than Pat McAfee.

But after the Colts were eliminated from postseason contention on Sunday, the former All-Pro punter couldn’t help but take a victory lap against his former team.

Taking full advantage of his X Premium subscription, McAfee fired off a 557-word post regarding the Colts’ elimination, which came as the result of an embarrassing 45-33 loss to the lowly New York Giants. Over the course of what ultimately amounted to a short blog post, the host of The Pat McAfee Show didn’t hold back, shredding the organization he spent the entirety of his eight-year NFL career playing for — as well as some of the team’s fans.

“I’ve said what I believed to be the truth about the team.. & a bunch of ‘Colts fans’ on the internet were trying to get me booed out of the city,” he wrote. “Current players, who have won nothing during their entire tenures, started using me and my face to try and paint me as the enemy in the city I’ve committed my life to. And in the end… everything went.. just like I fucking said it would[.] In the biggest moments everybody with a brain knew they’d crack.. and they did.”

The 37-year-old proceeded to run down a litany of “red flags” he saw with the Colts throughout the season, including questions regarding the team’s work ethic and preparation. He also noted quarterback Anthony Richardson’s decision to pull himself out of a game in October — a move he was critical of at the time, which spurred his ongoing feud with the team and players like linebackers Zaire Franklin and E.J. Speed.

“The franchise QB tapped out of a game.. on 3rd down.. in the red zone.. because he was tired… NEVER HAPPENED in the history of the NFL. That’s literally the only thing you need to tell someone (who knows ball) and they could tell you everything about this team,” McAfee wrote.

“‘Hey the franchise quarterback, who’s a professional athlete getting paid millions of dollars, and the face of a multi billion dollar franchise tapped out of the game because… because… because he was tired in the middle of the season’ ‘Oh wow.. that team has no chance’ would be the immediate response.”

McAfee also revealed that he won’t be renewing his season tickets with the franchise for the 2025 season.

Despite his allegiances to Indianapolis — and the Colts — McAfee obviously isn’t one to bite his tongue, which was evident in the immediate aftermath of Richardson’s decision to pull himself from a game. But while the tensions between the ESPN star and his former franchise seemed to settle in recent weeks, that clearly wasn’t the case, with McAfee quick to remind Colts players, fans and everyone else that he was right about the team’s red flags all along.

[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.

View all posts by Ben Axelrod