Aaron Rodgers-Pat McAfee show debacle: Journalist details how Jets QB's tantrum is causing ESPN's downfall
Aaron Rodgers is a regular on the Pat McAfee Show, which often ends up being a soapbox for the quarterback to discuss his views on things. It's been just about the only area that Rodgers consistently shows up in and consistently talks. He famously doesn't trust or like the media, but he's a frequent guest on ESPN's show.
One journalist believes that ESPN is courting disaster with all of this. McAfee technically is not an employee of theirs, so he has more freedom to do what he wants. So far, that appears to largely be letting Rodgers say whatever he wants.
Andrew Marchand wrote on the New York Post:
"He appears to be very loyal to those close to him, but there is not much evidence yet that he wants to be a good teammate at ESPN. In his desire to never change and to be true to himself, he is completely throwing Disney CEO Bob Iger, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro, and ESPN president of content Burke Magnus under the bus."
The NFL world was in shock by Mike Vrabel's recent firing, but McAfee used that time to let Rodgers talk about his fued with Jimmy Kimmel, his COVID-19 theories and disdain for Dr. Fauci and to criticize higher ups at ESPN.
Journalist calls out Pat McAfee Show about Aaron Rodgers segments
Andrew Marchand says that McAfee's segments with the New York Jets QB have devolved into "a middle-school lunchroom fight." Pat McAfee is an independent person in this, so it's hard for ESPN to control, and according to Marchand, it's getting out of hand.
Rodgers used the platform to insinuate that Jimmy Kimmel might be on Jeffrey Epstein's list after the late night TV host joked about Rodgers' vaccine stances. Marchand himself reported on the low ratings of the show, which prompted McAfee to call an ESPN executive a "rat".
Another executive, the one who caretakes the show, said that Rodgers' comments about Kimmel (who works for ESPN's parent company as well) were factually inaccurate and "dumb", which prompted Rodgers to double down and call out Mike Foss, the exec, as well.
It's all been a bit of a rough go of late for ESPN and the Pat McAfee Show, and Andrew Marchand believes there is one primary culprit.