Pat McAfee calls out ACC's $240,000,000 deal for being a purely cash-driven endeavor: "F*cked for another 12 years"
Pat McAfee could not just sit and talk about the Atlantic Coast Conference's massive media deal worth $240,000,000 until the year 2036, he jumped up in his seat as soon as he voiced out the amount.
While talking with ESPN football writer Pete Thamel, McAfee just unraveled:
"That ACC deal is a long time, bro. So, they got people traveling to Charlotte to come look at a deal that says, 'Yeah, you're f*cked for another 12 years.' I mean, I don't know which judge would say it, but one of them that looked at it would say that, because did they just sign that deal because they thought, '$240 million. Yeah, this is a lot of money.'?"
"Friday was the single most pivotal day in my twenty years covering College athletics"
@PeteThamel #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/491Z2VTHR5
McAfee discussed how, in recent times, money has been poured into live sports. The ACC and ESPN announced their new 15-year media deal agreement in 2012, which is allegedly worth $3.6 billion. The deal is worth $240 million annually.
Pat McAfee agreed with the ACC's front office for grabbing the opportunity to get almost $4 billion under their belt:
"Look, the money that's being spent on live sports, bro, that's what this is. Live sports are the only thing that carries ratings anymore."
What is Pat McAfee known for?
Pat McAfee was a place-kicker at West Virginia University who was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in 2009 and went on to be a part of the Super Bowl in his rookie year. Following his eight years in the NFL, he rose to be a professional wrestler, and a professional wrestling commentator. He is currently an analyst for ESPN with his own show and a spot on its "College GameDay" show.
Pat also runs a YouTube channel, which he started in 2017. With the rise in his popularity as a show host, "The Pat McAfee Show" now has 2.22 million subscribers.
Inside the ESPN and ACC media deal extension
The ACC and ESPN, 15-year media deal extension began in 2019. The deal guaranteed three Friday ACC football games to be televised per season on ESPN. With the current situation surrounding conference alignment, the ACC and its two best teams, Florida State and Clemson, the conference could lose heavy money in their deal.
The Pac-12 has now turned into the Pac-4. For these two conferences to survive their legacy, a merger would be a viable option, saving the ACC front office some money on their gigantic deal with ESPN.