Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/Mike Windle/Getty Images for ESPN
Last week, Pat McAfee added “Musician” to his résumé after dropping the debut album no one really asked for. Some of his coworkers at ESPN were huge fans of the record based on their reactions, but it doesn’t appear the network put its thumb on the scale after plenty of people voiced their skepticism over the authenticity of that feedback.
It’s been three years since The Pat McAfee Show moved to ESPN, and the eponymous host (who’d been contributing to its football coverage since 2019) quickly cemented himself as one of the network’s premier personalities.
More than a few viewers have experienced McAfee Fatigue based on how frequently he appears on television, but The Worldwide Leader is seemingly very happy with his work when you consider he’s reportedly negotiating a contract extension that could be worth over $60 million a year.
Last year, the man who spent eight seasons as a punter for the Colts before pivoting to broadcast entered a new arena when he dropped a song called “Dookie,” and last week he followed it up with the 14 tracks that comprised his debut album, The Diary of a Polarizing Figure,
That collection fell a bit short of “Instant Classic” status, although you might have been led to believe it was worthy of it based on the feedback of some fellow ESPN employees who apparently weren’t part of a coordinated push to hype it up.
ESPN reportedly had no role in encouraging employees to promote Pat McAfee’s debut album
McAfee’s debut falls in the country-rap genre you’d expect to encounter at college football tailgates and being blared from a speaker attached to the golf cart of players who don’t think twice about spitting out a Zyn on the course.
Most of the outlets that reviewed the project were anything but effusive in their praise (or severe lack thereof), but McAfee did get some positive feedback from some fans who just so happened to be employed by ESPN.
That included Kirk Herbstreit, who lauded the effort during an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show last week.
“You really got some strong lyrics and sent some really good messages. … Can you maybe do some on GameDay?”@KirkHerbstreit wants to see @PatMcafeeshow perform his music on College GameDay this season 👀 pic.twitter.com/P4KcfHX9ai
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) August 14, 2026
That sentiment was echoed by other ESPN staples including Dan Orlovsky and John Buccigross, who also gave it their seal of approval.
The album is legit good good @PatMcAfeeShow
— Dan Orlovsky (@danorlovsky7) August 14, 2026
I just listened to @PatMcAfeeShow‘s album driving in to do @SportsCenter tonight. I liked it! It’s a fun, energetic Country album. “Good Times” could be a single on any Top 40 Country station and be good bump music on @CollegeGameDay. The record is well produced and Pat can turn… https://t.co/z52nucjz5e
— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) August 15, 2026
Is there a chance they were genuinely fans of McAfee’s music? Sure, but a lot of people were skeptical that those reactions were authentic given the ESPN thread that tied them all together (and the fact that the general consensus among most listeners could be summed up with the trash emoji).
However, Ellyn Briggs of Front Office Sports spoke with an unnamed source who said ESPN had no role in the production or the promotion of the album while denying the push was part of an internal conspiracy.
Amid a number of ESPN talents praising Pat McAfee’s new album this weekend, a source tells @FOS that the network had no involvement in its production, and has no involvement in its promotion now https://t.co/uvPSBmoEy1
— Ellyn Briggs (@EllynBriggs) August 16, 2026
Of course, those employees have some incentive to stay in the good graces of one of the most influential figures currently employed at ESPN, but it does not appear the network was responsible for the bootlicking.