Pat McAfee blames Norby Williamson for creating controversy around show on ESPN following Aaron Rodgers’ comments
Pat McAfee reportedly signed a five-year $85 million deal with ESPN last year to bring the Pat McAfee Show on the network. Ever since then both the network and the show have enjoyed quite a lot of success. However, some people didn't like ESPN getting McAfee and they have continued to take digs at his show.
In his weekly appearance on the show, Aaron Rodgers was once again the center of attention. The New York Jets quarterback talked about Jimmy Kimmel being linked to the Epstein list and it brought a lot of criticism towards Rodgers as well as the show.
Also Read: Aaron Rodgers’ fans attack Jimmy Kimmel after comedian’s old tweet on ‘island’ goes viral: “See u in prison”
Ever since that moment, there have been conversations about whether ESPN will continue to provide Pat McAfee their platform for his show. In today's episode of his show, Pat McAfee went on a rant against ESPN's Head of Event and Studio Production Norby Williamson. McAfee apparently accused him of 'sabotaging' the show by leaking negative things.
Here's what McAfee said:
"We're very appreciative and we understand that more people are watching this show than ever before. We're very thankful for the ESPN folks being very hospitable. Now there are some people actively trying to sabotage us from within ESPN. More specifically, I believe Norby Williamson is the guy who is attempting to sabotage our program."
"I'm not 100% sure, that is just seemingly the only human that has information and then somehow that information gets leaked, and it's wrong. Then it sets a narrative of what our show is and then, are we just going to combat that from a rat every single time? I don't know."
"But like, somebody tried to get ahead of our actual ratings released with wrong numbers 12 hours beforehand. That's a sabotage attempt and it's been happening basically, this entire season from some people who didn't necessarily love the addition of the Pat McAfee show to the ESPN family."
Even though the Pat McAfee Show is extremely famous and is bringing a lot of viewers to ESPN, there is no denying that a lot of people don't want it on the network.
One of the biggest reasons behind this is the number of people that ESPN parted ways with before signing McAfee to a big deal. Moreover, his appearance on College GameDay has also sparked mixed reactions from the viewers. It will be interesting to see what happens next as Rodgers' weekly appearances on the show are unlikely to stop.
Pat McAfee is one of the best in the business
The rise of Pat McAfee from a punter for the Indianapolis Colts to one of the biggest faces in the sports entertainment industry has truly been remarkable. Apart from his successful show, McAfee has also been a part of the WWE where the fans loved him.
His show on the network features a fantastic lineup of guests who provide a lot of interest to the show. Along with Rodgers, regular guests include J.J. Watt, Darius Butler, Nick Saban, and other ESPN analysts from various sports.
Losing McAfee will be a big blow for ESPN as apart from Stephen A. Smith, he is arguably their biggest asset. People will be tined in to see what Disney and ESPN do going forward after McAfee's recent comments about Norby Williamson.