What pops into your head when you hear Pat McAfee? A man who speaks his mind without fear. At the beginning of the year, McAfee raised a call against the College Football Playoffs. “They say is it rest? Is it rust? Some of these teams waited like three weeks before playing ball. That’s a long time,” said the ESPN analyst. He was accused by Warren Sapp of running a PR campaign for former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard. But no matter what the hoopla is, McAfee stepped up, and he did not let it affect his broadcasting career. With Lee Corso gone, McAfee tried a new technique to keep the fans glued to the screen. And guess what? It paid off. 

The College GameDay crew hit South Beach for No. 4 Miami vs. Florida, but McAfee grabbed all the attention. While his cohosts all picked Miami, the analyst went off-script. Sprinting to the pool, he climbed the high dive in his underwear, and while choosing the Hurricanes jumped in. And it instantly went viral, racking up massive views.

On September 23, ESPN PR tweeted, “For the third straight week, @CollegeGameDay delivered its 2nd most-watched reg. season episode EVER 🔥.” Talking about the numbers that McAfee’s high dive likely brought in? The tweet mentioned, “🏈 2.8M avg. viewers, up 33% from ’24 Wk 4 🏈 3.4M final-hour viewers, tripling the competition head-to-head 🏈 4.4M full show peak. Season-to-date, pacing up 37% from 2024.” But what hints at the views surge being McAfee’s contribution?

Week 1 has been the ‘most watched episode of all time.’ It racked up 4.0 million viewers for its early window and 4.9 million for the final hour. But it also racked up 10 million viewers during the Corso’s final headgear pick, across all networks. The week 2 numbers were stuck at 2.6 million viewers for the morning section with 3.3 million in the final hour. Meanwhile it was raised to 2.7 million for early window and 3.4 million for final hour, in Week 3. While McAfee was present in all these shows, his high dive moment in week 4 is what boosted the views. 

Corso was legendary for his mascot head picks, and McAfee is putting his own spin on the tradition. He is reinventing the act, hyping the crowd with wrestling-style promos and leading them in the fight song. It’s proving to be a hit. Corso set the standard, and McAfee honors it, bringing wild energy and a fearless edge to the show’s closing moments. After a surge in views, thanks to the former Indianapolis Colts punter segment, ESPN’s President of Content declared McAfee one of a kind.

ESPN eyes long-term future with Pat McAfee

No matter how frequently McAfee attracted controversy, the Disney-owned company is clearly content with the partnership. Back in May 2023, the former punter signed a contract worth $85 million over five years. McAfee’s latest ESPN deal, reportedly worth $17 million per year, covers his daily Pat McAfee Show on cable, YouTube, and ESPN+, plus weekly appearances on College GameDay.

Two years later, on September 21, ESPN’s content chief, Burke Magnus, has made it clear the network wants McAfee beyond his current five-year contract. “For sure, on an ongoing basis beyond the current relationship we have with him… No doubt about that. One hundred percent. I think his show is hitting on all cylinders… He’s an incredible interviewer and conversationalist. There is a validation for athletes and executives to be on his show,” Magnus sounded confident about McAfee.

Even amidst his viral moment, McAfee did not forget to pay tribute to Corso. On his podcast, he said, “And right there, I didn’t have a mic on, I said, ‘Coach Corso. This pencil is for you, okay.’ And the reason why I did a pencil is because, first of all, I thought it was sweet to honor Coach Corso like that. But also the thought of just dying up there was much less with the pencil. That’s how it all came together. ” 

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And his efforts did actually reach Lee Corso. The 90-year-old admitted he was a bit worried, joking he was just glad McAfee “didn’t get electrocuted.” After the show, the two shared a heartfelt call, with Corso telling McAfee, “Great job. It was terrific,” affirming the torch had passed to capable hands.