Pat McAfee addresses Jason Kelce’s new Masters job after golf major told him to ‘go to hell’

Jason Kelce will be attending the 2026 Masters in a broadcasting role for ESPN, something Pat McAfee has revealed he wanted to do.

Since his retirement from the NFL back in 2024, Super Bowl champion Kelce has assumed a career working in sports media, where he has covered multiple sports including hockey and golf.

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Kelce attended the TGL – an indoor golf league co-founded by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy – on behalf of ESPN, where he served as a guest announcer for the final three matches of the regular season.

Now, The Masters has come calling.

According to a report from Front Office Sports, ESPN are sending their beloved NFL studio analyst to Augusta National to serve as an on-course reporter of The Masters Par 3 Contest.

The competition takes place annually on the Wednesday before the first round of the 90th edition of the golf major tees off on Thursday.

In that role, Kelce will be tasked with conducting interviews with players, past champions, and their families, alongside Marty Smith, with Scott Van Pelt hosting the coverage of the contest.

The announcement of Kelce’s role at the most prestigious event on golf’s calendar was met with some push back from the fans.

“We don’t need the Kelces in everything,” one user posted to X (formerly Twitter).

“Oh great this is just what everyone wanted. MORE Jason Kelce. Nothing says masters week like Jason Kelce,” another commented.

“Kelce is crushing the broadcasting game. He is a well known and likable guy. Kinda wild that a former player with a good personality can supersede all these broadcasting guru’s. These guys drive credibility and viewership though, so it makes sense,” a third, more positive, user wrote.

McAfee speaks out on Kelce’s new role

For a figure like Pat McAfee, though, despite having shown interest in taking his titular show to the Masters, he was met with a firm rejection.

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“The internet was rude about [Kelce’s role],”he said on Wednesday’s Pat McAfee Show. “Obviously the internet goes on to say ‘we don’t need Jason Kelce at the Masters.’ And that’s probably a valid point, if I had to guess.

“I’m only saying that strictly because because we have attempted to be a part of the Wednesday coverage of the Masters at the par-3 thing for three consecutive years now.

“For the people that are mad about Jason Kelce being a part of the Masters, I have a good piece of news for you: They’ve told us to go to hell.

Despite the Masters clearly distancing themselves from The Pat McAfee Show – something McAfee himself can understand – though probably not with the language he used, the outspoken host believes Kelce can offer something new to the event which is deeply rooted in tradition.

“So I think you should be happy about that, that they do try to preserve it as a whole. They have a certain thing that they are looking for,” McAfee added.

“I think Jason Kelce, who’s a dog, is funny, is relatable, and is a very good athlete, and is probably friends with a lot of these guys who will be golfing there. I think he will provide a bonus for that Par 3 coverage.

“But to the people that are upset who are saying that The Masters are the only thing you’ve got left, they’ve turned us down very loudly numerous times which I think should be good news for the state of their golf and the way that they view it all.”

But never say never, with The Masters having loosened its stance over the last decade or so and now welcoming Amazon Prime Video as a broadcast partner in a major shake-up.

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