The Pat McAfee Show cast: Meet team members behind multimillion-dollar worth sports talk show
Former NFL punter Pat McAfee announced the move of his eponymous daily sports program to ESPN. Starting this fall, "The Pat McAfee show" will be aired on ESPN, ESPN+, and ESPN’s YouTube channel after popular shows “Get Up” and “First Take.”
As McAfee moves his show to a new platform, he will leave behind his four-year, $120 million contract with FanDuel. "The Pat McAfee Show" will increase his engagement with the sports network as he is already doing College GameDay.
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This transition is another step towards McAfee’s ascension in the sports media. He started the program in 2016 and worked with companies like Barstool Sports, DAZN, and Sirius XM Radio. However, he wouldn’t have achieved so much success without the lovable supporting cast around him.
Who are the other hosts of The Pat McAfee Show?
The most notable of the mainstays is linebacker A.J. Hawk, who played 11 NFL seasons and won Super Bowl XLV with the Green Bay Packers. He usually joins in the show’s third hour and replaces McAfee as host if the latter has some matters to attend to.
Recently, the show’s popularity led to the addition of more NFL personalities. McAfee’s former teammate with the Indianapolis Colts, Darius Butler, is also a regular. Adam “Pacman” Jones and A.Q. Shipley make occasional appearances as well.
Chuck Pagano, McAfee’s former head coach in Indianapolis, does the “Coach P’s Keys” segment. NFL Network national insider Ian Rapoport also filled in for McAfee after the birth of the latter’s daughter.
There are also other hosts who make "The Pat McAfee Show" entertaining even during the NFL offseason. There’s Ty Schmit, an Iowa native who is a die-hard Green Bay Packers fan. He’s also the team’s master of impersonations, doing spot-on mimicry of Lou Holtz, Mel Kiper, Jay Glazer, and Nick Sirianni.
Schmidt’s partner in the “Toxic Table,” “Boston” Connr Campbell, sports the mullet and loves anything Massachusetts, including sports teams Boston Celtics and New England Patriots. He can also keep a poker face while Schmidt does his impersonations.
Anthony “Tone Digz” DiGuilio is the cowboy hat-wearing host who loves his Pittsburgh Steelers. He is the primary host of the sports betting show "Hammer Dahn" with Canadian sensation Kyle “Bubba Gumpino” Cathcart and Matt “Bruce Brahn” Brown.
Also joining in the conversation from the control booth is Nick Maraldo, a Pittsburgh native. He also hosts "That’s Hockey Talk" with Gumpino and 14-year NHL veteran Mike “Rupper” Rupp. Jose “Zito” Perez, a Chicago Bears fan is another host.
There’s also Mike “Dirdy” Girdy II, Bailey “Billy Tubes” McComas, Emmett “Money Mett” McMahon, and die-hard Detroit Lions fan Evan “Foxy” Fox.
How much are The Pat McAfee Show hosts getting paid?
Is a salary increase in the works for the show’s hosts? Andrew Marchand of the New York Post estimates the show’s annual pay in the “eight figures.” The wider distribution network might help them rake in more money.
Meanwhile, the Reddit discussion devoted to the show believes that the employees are making six-figure salaries. Some Redditors assume that McAfee pays each member at least $150,000.
While the exact figure remains a secret, McAfee does take care of his boys after heeding Dan Patrick’s advice.
He gave each employee, hosts included, $50,000 each after the FanDuel deal got through. He also gave all his employees a $250,000 bonus a year ago, as he announced in this video.
Now that they will join the “worldwide leader in sports,” who knows how much Pat McAfee will give his ever-loyal boys?