Is Pat McAfee show cancelled? Details on ex-NFL star's feud with Norby Williamson

Pat McAfee has built his brand on honesty and being as open to his fans as possible. However, few would have expected the former NFL star to call out a top ESPN executive on Friday's "Pat McAfee Show."

The Indianapolis Colts icon recently called out ESPN's head of production, Norby Williamson, for some questionable tactics, and he claimed Williamson might be trying to sabotage his show. This move has reportedly sent shockwaves through the broadcasting corporation, as "The Pat McAfee Show" is one of the biggest shows on the platform.

However, despite McAfee's unprecedented call out, his show has yet to be cancelled, and normal service will resume during the weekend. But still, it begs the question of how murky it is behind the scenes at ESPN.

Who is Norby Williamson

Norby Williamson is a television producer and executive. Williamson is ESPN's Executive Senior Vice President of Studio and Event Production. He has been responsible for all studio shows and live sporting events on ESPN networks since October 2005.

Williamson has been at ESPN since the 1980s, with the Connecticut native joining the corporation shortly after graduating from Southern Connecticut State University. His first role was in the ESPN mailroom, and he has since risen.

Williamson was the first producer for SportsCenter, and the flagship event is one of ESPN's most iconic shows. Williamson became the network's executive vice president of studio production in September 2017. He was called out by Pat McAfee in January 2024 but has yet to respond to McAfee's comments.

What did Pat McAfee say about Norby Williamson?

During a January 5 episode of "The Pat McAfee Show" McAfee went on an epic rant calling out ESPN exec Norby Williamson. McAfee blatantly accused the veteran producer of 'sabotaging' his show by leaking negative things.

McAfee said:

"We are very appreciative, and we understand that more people are watching this show than ever before. We are very thankful for the ESPN folks being very hospitable. Now, some people are actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN. More specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy who is attempting to sabotage our program.

"I'm not 100% sure; that is seemingly the only human with information, and then somehow that information gets leaked, and it's wrong. Then it sets a narrative of what our show is, and then, are we just going to combat that from a rat every single time? I don't know. But somebody tried to get ahead of our actual ratings released with the wrong numbers 12 hours beforehand. That's a sabotage attempt, and it's been happening basically this entire season from some people who didn't necessarily love the addition of the Pat McAfee show to the ESPN family."

The call-out was unprecedented even by McAfee's standards, as it's an extremely rare move to call out your direct boss on air like that. However, not every employee is on a five-year $85 million deal, and not everyone's McAfee. We look forward to a response from Norby Williamson or ESPN, and we will keep you updated as events unfold.