ESPN ‘changed rules’ with Pat McAfee as network rival Stephen A Smith makes bold freedom claim

Pat McAfee is ESPN's current poster boy, but it wasn't always the way.

Colleague Stephen A. Smith has revealed the former Indianapolis Colts punter operates under a different set of rules to him having once been the apple of the network's eye.

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Whether it's the College GameDay kicking contest - which last weekend saw one student score a massive $1.2 million - his popular daily talk show, or a debut on NFL Monday Night Countdown, fans feel McAfee is being plastered everywhere right now.

He and Smith are two of the network's biggest personalities, but according to the latter, one has significantly more freedom than the other - thanks to the deal he operates under.

Stephen A. Smith reveals details of Pat McAfee's ESPN freedom

" has a level of independence I’ve never had," Smith told Matt Iseman of Front Office Sports Tonight.

"He owns his own platforms. He leases that to ESPN. I’m employed by ESPN because ESPN owns First Take. I don’t own First Take, they do."

ESPN, as Smith infers, does not own The Pat McAfee Show.

In 2023, the network agreed to a licensing deal with McAfee for the show, which was launched in 2017.

That deal includes McAfee, his co-hosts, producers, and his Indianapolis studio, according to Front Office Sports.

McAfee operates under a separate talent deal to be a part of College GameDay, and it has recently been reported that he is in talks to sign a big-money extension, even though his current contract runs until 2028.

Such negotiations, and a wider remit on ESPN, shows how high McAfee's stock is. Smith believes he's earned that.

"He just leases his show to ESPN; We work for ESPN," the $105m broadcaster added.

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"And so that’s not to imply that Pat is not a part of the team because he’s on ESPN’s airwaves. But there’s a different set of rules that we’re obligated and culpable and attached to that he’s not.

"When people talk about that, they’re just missing the boat.

"They don’t get the fact that he doesn’t work for us. You see, he works for himself. And that’s a testament to him."

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Some, though, have argued that McAfee's 'freedom' has also allowed him to have too much power after College GameDay producer Jim Gaiero was removed from the show amid friction with the former Colts punter.

While McAfee could soon dwarf Smith's $100m-plus contract, and have more independence, that doesn't mean the 23-year ESPN veteran is unhappy with his own status within the company.

“I do have freedoms that the average person doesn’t have in this business, and I get that part,” Smith continued. 

“And there’s a lot of things that I can do because I negotiated the contractual right to do them, the reality is that’s an entirely different world than Pat McAfee.

“Pat McAfee, when he says he’s his own boss, he truly is his own boss.”

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