ESPN
JJ Watt ribbed Pat McAfee over his $100M contract negotiations
They say there’s a bit of truth in every joke. It’s interesting to watch JJ Watt rib Pat McAfee over his reported $100 million deal at ESPN with that in mind.
Earlier this week, numerous layoffs at ESPN — and the larger Disney empire — were announced, with the likes of Ryan Clark, Karl Ravech, Cam Newton, Tom Pelissero, Stephania Bell, David Lloyd, Bart Scott, and more losing their jobs at the network.
JJ Watt seemed to make Pat McAfee uncomfortable with jokes about his ESPN contract costing other people their jobs
The litany of layoffs at ESPN comes amid reports that Pat McAfee is negotiating a new contract with ESPN in the neighborhood of $100 million — a fact that JJ Watt was quick to remind him of when he appeared on The Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday.
“Slow news day over there on the ESPN airwaves. I mean, besides the fact that you’re getting $100 million per year. They’re taking everybody off the network,” Watt said.
“Did they keep anybody? Or is everybody fired to pay you? I’m trying to figure it out,” he added as McAfee attempted to deflect.
According to a report from The Athletic in June, McAfee’s new contract could see him make over $60 million annually, with agents reportedly making an opening ask of $100 million per year.
“That’s not funny. We do not like that. We do not appreciate that. That is the narrative, and I’m surely taking it on the shins,” McAfee replied.
🚨BREAKING: #NFL ICON JJ WATT “BLAMED” PAT MCAFEE FOR THE REASON ESPN IS FIRING MANY OF THEIR EMPLOYEES.
“So slow news day over there on the ESPN airwaves. Besides that you’re getting $100M per year”
“They keep anybody or is everybody fired to pay you?” pic.twitter.com/yvcJWOhjEE
— MLFootball (@MLFootball) July 22, 2026
Fair or not to McAfee, the narrative that ESPN is culling employees to play the likes of him and Stephen A. Smith massive salaries is now fully entrenched in the narrative.
SportsCenter anchor David Lloyd, for example, had been with ESPN since 1997 and was one of their longest-tenured employees. He’s now out of a job. Smith and McAfee, meanwhile, are taking in a reported $80 million from the network per year combined.