NFL writer has dire prediction for ESPN morale after Pat McAfee’s multi-million dollar move - “Probably unfair”

Pat McAfee recently made headlines when it was announced that he will be parting ways with FanDuel to join ESPN. The sports media giant apparently convinced him to walk away from a $120 million contract with his former employer to be featured on their platform.

The timing of this mega-deal is ironic considering ESPN is in the middle of making major layoffs and downsizing their staff of analysts. It appears they will be turning their focus to more of a quality-over-quantity approach, while also targeting to attract a younger audience.

Pat McAfee comes with a massive following of devoted fans, so it makes sense that ESPN was interested in acquiring him.

Washington Post NFL writer Ben Strauss recently shared his thoughts on what this deal could mean for ESPN moving forward:

"Do you not do this signing because you’re doing these layoffs? I think that’s probably unfair to the company. It’s up to us to look at it and say this is, you know, a little unseemly. This is tough for a lot of people. But I think internally is the most important thing.

"How do people inside ESPN feel being in this world where you are going to pick five or six people and give them all the money in the world and for everyone else, if you can get a better offer, take it?

"I sort of wonder what that does to the morale of the company and what it feels like to work there when there’s sort of a clear decision that there are these people that really matter and we’re just not sure about everybody else."

"It’s less an optics thing and more just how does it feel to work at ESPN? Do you feel good going to work at that place right now? I think morale is pretty low and people have a hard time with this most recent round of layoffs. And there’s going to be another one."

It's a tough spot for the large majority of employees who work for the company. On one hand, they are being told about downsizing for financial reasons, while on the other they see enormous contracts going out to specific individuals.

How much will Pat McAfee make at ESPN?

Pat McAfee

Pat McAfee signed a four-year contract with FanDuel worth $120 million prior to being poached by ESPN. He's currently in the second year of that deal, but it appears he's likely leaving it to switch to the sports media giant.

While the exact details of his new contract have not yet been made public, it would almost definitely have to be significantly more than FanDuel was paying him. Expect his deal to far exceed $30 million in AAV.