Pat McAfee had some choice words for Disney executives after Aaron Rodgers' payment arrangement with him reportedly went public.
Andrew Marchand wrote a New York Post piece that reported that the show host has paid the quarterback 1 million dollars to make appearances on his show. The former Indianapolis Colts kicker was clearly incensed and believed that executives at ESPN, the current network for his show, had leaked these details.
As per The Washington Post, Pat McAfee claimed the story was designed to make him and his show look bad. So he took aim at the network that employs him and said:
“All the suits at ESPN that told [the New York Post] to write this article to make us look bad, your time is coming.”
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He then went on to point to his crotch in what is seen as a universal sign to suck it.
It also shows the star power of not just Aaron Rodgers, but the new network host as well. For years, ESPN was the brand on which Disney relied. It still remains the market leader in sports on TV, but this is an era when personalities are becoming more important than the news they deliver.
Pat McAfee has made a strong show and Disney was clearly intent on getting him on ESPN even as it fired multiple other staffers. One of the reasons why his show has the viewership it has is because of Aaron Rodgers. The former Packers quarterback made regular appearances on the show to outline his plans, from his injury updates to where he wanted to move from Green Bay.
ESPN and Disney executive backs Pat McAfee and Aaron Rodgers
Even amidst the challenge thrown by Pat McAfee toward his own bosses, it remains clear that ESPN is not in the mood to lose either the show host or Aaron Rodgers. Mike Foss, a senior vice president of the network, told The Washington Post:
“He’s (Aaron Rodgers) a singular football talent and he’s been an incredible contributor to the show, and that’s what he is."
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