"Congrats to WWE & ESPN" - Pat McAfee breaks silence

Pat McAfee's worlds collided on Wednesday when WWE and ESPN announced their partnership starting next year. McAfee, who is currently on hiatus from his gig as RAW commentator, has broken his silence on WWE Premium Live Events airing on ESPN's platform in 2026.

WWE and ESPN shocked the sports and entertainment world when they announced a multi-year partnership. The worldwide leader in sports will be the exclusive home of all PLEs, from the Royal Rumble to WrestleMania to SummerSlam and to Survivor Series, as well as all preshows and postshows.

Pat McAfee, who is also part of ESPN, congratulated both companies for their massive collaboration. He also couldn't help himself from taking shots at the "powerless bum a**" suits and dinosaurs of the sports network that might not be happy with the deal.

Pat McAfee

@PatMcAfeeShow

Congrats to the @WWE and @espn on getting a historic PLE deal done. Great to see 2 powerhouses of sports and entertainment come together. I assume all the mid level, powerless, bum a** suits at ESPN will attempt to muddy this somehow (out of context leaks/ignorant anonymous

The creator of the ultra-popular "The Pat McAfee Show" has butted heads with many longtime veterans at ESPN. He joined the network and brought his show in August 2023 in a lucrative multi-year contract.

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Backstage update on Pat McAfee's future in WWE

Pat McAfee took a shocking leave of absence from the WWE after Money in the Bank last month, citing burnout. He has not been calling RAW with Michael Cole, and Corey Graves has done a wonderful job filling in for him.

According to Fightful Select, people within WWE are happy with Graves being versatile about his role in the company. As for McAfee, he is reportedly well-liked backstage and is very respectful despite his stature as among the most popular sports analysts in the world.

The expectation is McAfee will be back on commentary, though there is no timetable for his return. In addition to his work with WWE and his daily show, the former Indianapolis Colts punter also serves as an analyst for ESPN during college football and NFL seasons.

As a former NFL player, McAfee offers a lot of insights from his experience playing on the field. His gift of gab also helps pull in viewers, though he also has his detractors and critics.