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ESPN Shares News of Major Career Milestone for Pat McAfee

ESPN celebrates Pat McAfee earning a spot on the inaugural 2026 TIME100 Sports list of most influential figures.
Matt De Lima|
Pat McAfee, in just a few short years, has gone from NFL punter to the head of his own media empire.
Pat McAfee, in just a few short years, has gone from NFL punter to the head of his own media empire. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

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Pat McAfee has gone from punting footballs at Lucas Oil Stadium to punting takes across the sports media world, and now he has the recognition to match.

ESPN announced that McAfee was named to the inaugural TIME100 Sports list, which spotlights 100 figures reshaping the global sports industry in 2026.

The honor places the former Indianapolis Colts punter alongside athletes, executives and culture-shapers selected by TIME's editors as the most influential voices in sports today.

TIME100 Sports list inaugural class

TIME launched the Sports vertical this year as a companion to its flagship TIME100, an annual ranking the magazine has produced since 1999.

Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs framed the new list as a response to a year defined by the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, two events that pushed athletes and operators into broader cultural relevance.

McAfee shares the inaugural class with Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu, world No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, snowboarder Chloe Kim, sprinter Noah Lyles, hockey forward Hilary Knight and Formula 1 driver Lando Norris.

That McAfee landed among Olympians and major-sport headliners speaks to how TIME defined influence for the project. Sean Gregory, who wrote McAfee's entry, leaned heavily on reach.

The Pat McAfee Show pulls in millions of viewers daily across YouTube and ESPN, and the program has become a destination for coaches, general managers and commissioners who want to bypass traditional press settings.

From seventh round punter to media mogul

McAfee was the 222nd overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft, a seventh-round flier from West Virginia who carved out an eight-year career with the Colts that included two Pro Bowls and a 2014 First-Team All-Pro nod. He retired at 29 to chase a media career most observers thought was a stretch.

The 2023 licensing agreement with ESPN, reported at five years and $85 million, accelerated everything. His College GameDay segment has handed out more than $5 million in cash and charitable contributions to students attempting 33-yard field goals over the past two seasons, per TIME.

College GameDay analyst Pat McAfee
Pat McAfee on the ESPN College Gameday set at the 2025 Rose Bowl | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Daily YouTube uploads regularly clear two million views, and his Aaron Rodgers Tuesday segments before Rodgers exited the show in 2024 became must-watch programming for the news cycle they generated, controversy included.

McAfee stepped away from WWE in April after WrestleMania 42, narrowing his focus to the show and GameDay.

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Matt De Lima
MATT DE LIMA

Matt De Lima is a veteran sports writer and editor with 15+ years of experience covering college football, the NFL, NBA, WNBA, and MLB. A Virginia Tech graduate and two-time FSWA finalist, he has held roles at DraftKings, The Game Day, ClutchPoints, and GiveMeSport. Matt has built a reputation for his digital-first approach, sharp news judgment and ability to deliver timely, engaging sports coverage.

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