Pat McAfee breaks silence after receiving hate on social media for College Football coverage - "Humbling experience”

Pat McAfee and his popular weekly show will have a new home next month on ESPN. The former NFL punter will also be a part of the network's College GameDay show on Saturdays as an analyst. While some are fans of his work covering college football, others are not.

He talked about the hate he's gotten via social media due to his coverage of the sport. McAfee noted that the hate has been humbling to him and is ready to be immersed in college football.

“I got murdered by people, they hate me on the internet, boy oh boy. There ain't nothing like that. Those people do not like Pat McAfee…. It was tough, it was tough to read. I'm gonna let you know it was a little bit of a humbling experience. But I want to let all them know. I am so excited to be back in the college game."

McAfee added:

"I can't wait to get baptized yet again, in the college football atmosphere in the universe and I think a lot of them hate me because they think I'm replacing David Pollack or I had some say in the fact that he’s not on TV anymore.”

Some fans added that the former Indianapolis Colts punter has something to do with longtime College GameDay staple David Pollock being let go.

Pollock was part of ESPN's massive layoffs back in July and won't be a part of College GameDay for the first time since the fall of 2011.

Pat McAfee was a contributor to the show in 2019 and 2020 before becoming a permanent member of the panel.

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How much will Pat McAfee make in his ESPN deal?

McAfee’s new deal with the network will be worth close to $17 million per year. His show 'The Pat McAfee Show', will be aired on ESPN’s cable channel, their YouTube channel, and the ESPN+ streaming service.

In return, ESPN gets 230 fully produced shows a year to advertise against. The 36-year-old left his $120 million deal with FanDuel to go to ESPN.

McAfee will maintain the creative control of his show as fans will likely hear less of the 'F' word on the network.