Notable update emerges on Pat McAfee’s future at ESPN

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Notable update emerges on Pat McAfee’s future at ESPN

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Darryn Albert | Last updated Jun 3, 2026 12:22 PM ET

Pat McAfee and ESPN will keep on keeping on together.

The retired former NFL All-Pro punter McAfee is in early talks for a new long-term contract extension with ESPN, Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reported on Monday. Glasspiegel notes that McAfee’s current five-year contract with ESPN runs through 2028 and is worth a reported $85 million.

Additionally, McAfee announced earlier in the day Monday that he has a new partnership with DraftKings. Notably, DraftKings serves as the official sportsbook partner of ESPN.

We are OFFICIALLY partnering with @DraftKings..

We're gonna Chase The Crown #PMSLive https://t.co/mwCUH63gRs pic.twitter.com/nYB3tr6RDn
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) June 1, 2026

McAfee, still only 39 years old, retired from the NFL in 2016 and started “The Pat McAfee Show” in 2019. The daily talk show quickly became one of the most popular sports programs in the nation, and McAfee ended up moving the show to ESPN in 2023.

As part of their partnership, ESPN simulcasts “The Pat McAfee Show” on their flagship TV channel for two hours every weekday while ESPN+ and ESPN’s YouTube channel air the entire three-hour show. McAfee is also taking on other duties for ESPN these days, including providing some classic moments as a panelist on “College GameDay.”

There was a report last year claiming that ESPN producers had gotten fed up with McAfee because of some alleged “diva-like” behavior. But now that McAfee is past the halfway point of his first contract with the network, it appears that there will be no issues whatsoever with getting the former punter to a second contract.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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