Pat McAfee could be nearing an extension with ESPN, according to Front Office Sports.
Although his current deal with the network won’t expire until 2028, McAfee and the Worldwide Leader are already embarking on extension talks, reports Ryan Glasspiegel of FOS. No figures have been reported and according to Glasspiegel, a deal is not imminent. ESPN spokespeople have declined to speak on the matter.
McAfee is not an ESPN employee. Instead, he produces his own show and sells it to ESPN, while also making regular appearances on College GameDay. Currently, ESPN is paying McAfee a reported $17 million a year to air his show, although he pays his staff and production costs out of his end of the deal.
The former Indianapolis Colts punter became a popular podcaster with Barstool Sports, SiriusXM, YouTube and other platforms before dipping his toe into the ESPN waters in 2019 with a string of Thursday Night College Football appearances. Since 2022, he’s helped galvanize the network with teens and younger men.
‘We were up 34 percent year-over-year in the 18-to-24 demo,’ ESPN president Burke Magnus told FOS in 2025. ‘That just doesn’t happen in our business without something remarkable. To me, that’s the appeal of Pat. I have kids who are 23 and 25. He’s the guy. He’s the voice of their generation and their fandom. He represents them. He’s the guy like Chris Berman was for me.’
News of an extension for McAfee with ESPN comes after the 39-year-old revealed the difficult circumstances of his infant son’s recent birth.
Ex-Colts punter Pat McAfee is not an ESPN employee. Instead, he produces his own show and sells it to ESPN, while also making regular appearances on College GameDay
As he explained in a statement, his son Midas arrived four weeks early before spending around 36 hours in intensive care following the emergency C-section birth.
‘Due to Samantha having a high risk pregnancy and severe preeclampsia, the decision was made to have an emergency C-Section on Friday night. Baby boy officially entered the world on May 22nd at 10:42PM as a 6lb 6oz screaming young legend… 10 Toes, 10 Fingers, full head of hair,’ McAfee wrote in a statement.
‘Literally in his first moments of life, Midas was working… He was able to get his O2 Levels high enough to be able to come hang with us in our room and because of that we got to do all of the immediate magical newborn moments.. Skin to skin, 10,000 kisses, tons of love, all of that.
Pat McAfee revealed his newborn son, Midas Robert, spent 36 hours in intensive care
‘Inevitably, since he came into the world at 36 Weeks (40 is full term), he had to develop his lungs a little bit more, get some fluid out of him, and adjust a bit to life outside of Sam’s stomach.
‘So, he was sent to the NICU to help the transition from the womb to the world.
‘We had a sneaky suspicion that he was a dawg and a fighter but, it is a bit scary to see your baby hooked up to so many ‘very serious’ things.. He ended up staying roughly 36 hours in the NICU before being released back to our room… a FULL CELEBRATION occurred. We’ve been floating around this room.. sleeping and burping and feeding and changing diapers ever since.’
He also paid an emotional tribute to his wife, writing: ‘Watching Samantha battle thru her recovery has been nothing short of inspiring.
‘I will be sure that our kids will know how much you went thru for them.. And every time I went and saw boy, I couldn’t help but fantasize about what his life could become.. So many dreams and opportunities waiting for this young stud.’
McAfee revealed Midas’s middle name, Robert, was tribute to his father-in-law who passed away in June 2024.
Samantha McAfee previoulsy twice needed life-saving surgery due to an ectopic pregnancy
McAfee explained: ”Robert’ is a tribute to Samantha’s dad and best friend.. A man that we lost way too soon a couple of years back and will now live on forever thru Mighty Midas.
‘Midas will know his grandfather thru our stories and pictures.. and we know Bob will be looking out for Midas for all of time.’
In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail earlier this year , McAfee opened up on how much he loves his life as a father – and his plans for his son to play sports.
‘Now that I have a two-and-a-half-year-old, I have no idea what I would have done [without kids],’ McAfee said. ‘I love everything about it.
He said of his son’s potential sporting career: ‘I do not want him to be a kicker. If he wants to throw it a little bit, I’ll certainly help. But if he wants to be an astronaut? Cool. I can’t wait for all of it.’
McAfee and wife Samantha turned to IVF to start a family after Samantha twice had an ectopic pregnancy – when a fertilized egg grows outside the uterus. On both occasions, she required life-saving surgery.
