Shannon Sharpe. Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Report: Shannon Sharpe in talks with FanDuel to replace Pat McAfee

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 6/20/23

It didn’t take long for FanDuel TV to find a replacement for the Pat McAfee-sized hole left in its programming lineup.

According to a report from Front Office Sports , FanDuel is in talks with Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe, who recently left Fox Sports after a seven-year run as co-host of “Undisputed” with Skip Bayless, about possibly taking over the time slot opened by the departure of “The Pat McAfee Show,” which has since moved to ESPN.

Sharpe dropped a subtle hint regarding his future in a Monday morning tweet.

l'm enjoying my early morning workouts, late breakfast, and break from wearing a suit every morning... But just for a little while. I'll be back on in the morning's soon. pic.twitter.com/yLackSJLsB
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) June 19, 2023

Financial details of a potential deal are not known, but it’s safe to assume FanDuel has some money to burn after McAfee left nearly a year-and-a-half into his four-year, $120 million contract with the sportsbook, leaving approximately $75 million on the table.

While losing McAfee and his massive social media following (7.69M followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube) was a hit for FanDuel, Sharpe would be an adequate replacement. His social media following (7.4M total followers) is only slightly smaller than McAfee’s.

And “The Pat McAfee Show” was unquestionably a big draw for the sportsbook’s TV platform (2.2M YouTube subscribers), should Sharpe’s “Club Shay Shay” podcast be part of any potential FanDuel deal, it would be gaining a show with another large following (1.3M YouTube subscribers).

At FanDuel, Sharpe would join a growing stable of sports programming, which includes “Up and Adams,” hosted by former NFL Network host Kay Adams, and “Run it Back,” hosted by former ESPN anchor Michelle Beadle and NBA insider Shams Charania.

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