Former NFL star LeSean McCoy believes Pat McAfee has accumulated an unusual amount of power in sports media, comparing the ESPN personality's influence to that of President Donald Trump.

McCoy made the comparison during a recent episode of “Speakeasy” after a clip from “The Pat McAfee Show” went viral. The clip appeared to show McAfee putting out a lit object in an ashtray during Thursday's ESPN broadcast, prompting speculation on social media that he was smoking marijuana. McAfee later joked on X that it was “sage.” Reports have not independently established that the object was a joint.

"Pat McAfee is the most powerful person other than Donald Trump… He's the only dude I know that can smoke weed on a show and nothing happens"

– @CutonDime25 responds to the viral video of McAfee caught smoking marijuana during show on ESPN

LIVE NOW ⬇️ https://t.co/PcJyFzXK3w pic.twitter.com/yFkZ1JywTF

— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) September 18, 2026

“Pat is a kicker and he’s more popular than any quarterback that’s retired other than Tom Brady, for one. For two, he's probably the most powerful person other than Donald Trump,” McCoy said. “He’s the only dude that I know that can smoke weed on the show and nothing happens. Call out his boss and then get a raise. He do whatever he wants.”

McCoy continued by praising the former Indianapolis Colts punter's rise in sports media.

Pat McAfee smoking live on ESPN? pic.twitter.com/VHlKslAVaD

— America’s Team (@RoadToSix) September 17, 2026

“So listen, I’m a fan of Pat, I’ve always been a fan of Pat, bro. The stuff he’s doing right now, nobody’s done. He’s great on TV, a great personality… Imagine a kicker doing these types of things. I root for Pat like I said before, ain’t nobody more powerful than him other than the President.”

McAfee has developed one of sports media's largest platforms since retiring from the NFL. ESPN reported in October 2025 that “The Pat McAfee Show” had surpassed 1 billion monthly social media views for the first time while averaging 447,000 live viewers across ESPN and YouTube that September.