Pat McAfee Lands Big New ESPN NFL Job, Whether We Like It or Not

If anyone was concerned at all that we might not be getting enough Pat McAfee in our lives this coming football season (or just in general, really), worry no more. On Tuesday morning ESPN announced that the former NFL kicker turned rap-country singer will have a new role this NFL season as he will be an analyst each week on “Monday Night Countdown.”

I’m kidding, of course, about anyone in the world feeling like there could possibly not be enough McAfee on various airwaves as he has become arguably the biggest star of ESPN. There’s his daily TV show where he stands up for hours while talking about anything and everything while also interviewing a lot of star athletes, including Aaron Rodgers.

Every Saturday during the college football season he can be seen on “College GameDay,” where he often fires up the crowd with some zany antics and gives one lucky fan each week a chance to win a boatload of drinking money by kicking a field goal in front of a raucous crowd.

Now we’ll be able to see him on Monday night, too, where he’ll be sitting alongside Scott Van Pelt, Jason Kelce, Marcus Spears and Jason McCourty before the final NFL game of each week.

Oh, and let’s not forget about his new album, The Diary of a Polarizing Figure, that dropped last week. You know, the one the one that has songs called “Rich as S---“ and “Pitbull & A Mugshot.”

McAfee has quickly joined Stephen A. Smith as one of the biggest faces of ESPN. He’s made a great career for himself at the sports network and the title of his album is kind of fitting, as fans either love him or hate him. There really isn’t any in between when it comes to feelings that people have for the man in the black tank top.

This all means that we will get one day a week during the football season in which we won’t hear from McAfee. Unless, of course, you choose to fire up his album on Sunday to get ready for a full day of watching football on your couch.

It’s a lot, to be sure. But this is the business that ESPN wants to be in and we all have to just sit there and take it, or just not watch. Or not listen to his album on Spotify.

McAfee’s on-air dominance on ESPN was awkwardly on display Monday when the start of his show abruptly interrupted an on-air tribute to the network’s founder, Bill Rasmussen, who died at the age of 93.

Here’s how that played out:

ESPN's tribute to Bill Rasmussen at the end of 'First Take' was cut off by the beginning of 'The Pat McAfee Show': pic.twitter.com/uM2oVNywXj
— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) August 18, 2026

That ill-timed moment of live television was pretty telling of where and what ESPN is today. McAfee is clearly a star who has a huge audience and the network, in that regard, is smart to put him on TV as often as they can.

But that doesn’t mean everyone is going to love it. Thankfully, it’s easy to avoid pregame shows in this day and age with tons of other content options that can fill the dreary times before football games begin.

But if you want more McAfee, you’re going to get it.

And he will continue to be “Rich as S---.”

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