Pat McAfee is leaving FanDuel for ESPN, and details are now out on the agreement he’s reached to become a full-time media personality for the worldwide leader.
McAfee’s contract is worth $85 million over five years, a perceived pay cut from the four-year deal at FanDuel that was worth $120 million, according to Andrew Marchand of the New York Post.
ESPN declined comment when reached by Marchand, and McAfee skirted the Marchand report during a conversation as well.
“Interesting number,” McAfee told The Post. “I don’t talk about the business side of it all, the actual numbers and such.”
McAfee’s new deal with ESPN worth around $17 million per year includes his daily show The Pat McAfee Show which will air on ESPN’s cable channel, the network’s YouTube channel and also on the ESPN+ streaming service. It also includes his weekly spots on ESPN’s College GameDay, which he began appearing on regularly last season.
With McAfee’s new ESPN contract, he also kept complete creative control of the content on his show. This includes the ability for McAfee to invite personalities from other networks, like NFL insider Ian Rapoport, who is a regular guest of McAfee’s show on FanDuel but works for NFL Network and competes directly with ESPN and lead NFL insider Adam Schefter.
ESPN gets 230 fully produced shows per year to advertise against, and McAfee will get even more eyes on his program, which is likely to attract more viewers at ESPN than at FanDuel.
